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35 West 45th Street - New York City

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

AMERICAN

CINEMATOGRAPHER

A Technical and Educational publication
of motion picture photography.

Published monthly by the
AMERICAN SOCIETY
OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS, INC.,

Suite 1222 Cuaranty Building,

Hollywood, California.

Telephone Granite 4274.

JOHN ARNOLD, President, A. S. C.

GEORGE SCHNEIDERMAN, Treasurer, A. S. C.

Volume XIII FEBRUARY, 1933 Number 10

What to Read

PHOTOS

by Karl Struss, A.S.C 5

A.S.C. Tests 7

MITCHELL Noiseless Camera

by Ha! Rosson, A.S.C 8

TREND of the Times 10

RECORDING Music

by David Mendoza 1 1

PHOTOGRAPHY of the Month 12

“MISCASTING” the Cinematographer
by Victor Milner, A.S.C 13

RIDDLE Me This 14

DIFFERENCE Between Gamma and Contrast
by Emery Huse, A.S.C 16

WHEELS of Industry 18

ON the Job With Camera and Sound Men 40

AMATEUR SECTION

ENLARGEMENTS from 16 MM. Film
by Hatto Tappenbeck, A.S.C 20

KODACOLOR Experiences and Experiments
by H. M. Armstrong 21

WIPE-OFFS . . . How to Make Them
by Frank B. Good, A.S.C 22

LIGHTING for Home Movies

by S. W. Childs, Jr 23

I MADE My Own 16 MM. Camera
by Raymond Harvey 24

NEW Stop Motion Device

by Alan C. Wooley & George V. Morris.-.. 27
HERE’S How

by A.S.C. Members 28

ESTABLISHED 1918. Advertising Rates on appli-
cation. Subscription: U. S. $3.00 a year; Canada
$3.50 a year; Foreign, $4.00 a year; single copies 25c.
COPYRIGHT, 1933, by American Society of Cine-
matographers Inc.

The Staff

EDITOR

Charles J. VerHalen

TECHNICAL EDITOR

Emery Huse, A. S. C.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

William Stull, A. S. C.

COVER AND ART

Dorothy Groton

ADVISORY
EDITORIAL BOARD

George Schneiderman, A. S. C.
Hatto Tappenbeck, A. S. C.
H. T. Cowling, A. S. C.
Dr. L. M. Dieterich, A. S. C.
Dr. C. E. K. Mees, A. S. C.

Dr. L. A. Jones, A. S. C.
Dr. W. B. Rayton, A. S. C.
Dr. Herbert Meyer, A. S. C.
Dr. V. B. Sease, A. S. C.

FOREICN REPRESENTATIVES

Georges Benoit, % Louis Verande, 12 Rue
d'Aguessau, Paris 8e. John Dored, Riga,
Latvia. Herford Tynes Cowling, 311 Alex-
ander Street, Rochester, N. Y.

Neither the American Cinematographer nor
the American Society of Cinematograph-
ers is responsible for statements made by
authors. This magazine will not be re-
sponsible for unsolicited manuscripts.

American Cinematographer • February 1933

HOW TO WIN A

P ersonal Movie C ontest

First Prize winners Page (Jeff) and Palmer ,
on location with their Filmo Camera. In writ-
ing to name a Filmo jo-DA Camera as their
Bell & Howell added prize, Mr. Palmer said ,
"The Filmo Camera was undoubtedly a great
aid "(in filming "Tarzan, Jr."). "It allows
double and triple exposures to be made with the
success that is usually expected only of )jmm.
studio cameras.

•

S. W. Childs, Jr., placing his B ZT H prize,
a Cooke i-inch Fry lens, on his Filmo Camera.
He said that , in shots of the kind which com-
pose his prize winning film, you have to be sure
that " what you see, you get" , and adds, "my
Filmo certainly imparts that confidence ."

From December "American Cinematographer"

T HE FIRST and third prize-win-
ing movies in the American
Cinematographer contest were ioo
percent Filmo-made; the second,
fifty percent. Filmo’s part in help-
ing win these prizes was not a
coincidence. While taking movies
of superlative quality, Filmo at [the
same time gave these winning ama-
teurs the utmost freedom to work
out composition and production
technique — freedom from worry as
to whether the camera would do
its part.

100 %

FILMO

MADE

50 %

FILMO

MADE

100 %

FILMO

MADE

William

first prize

Palmer and Ernest W. Page, Pa o

)'•

“Tarzan

for

Alto, Calif.,
reels.

SECOND PRIZE Tatsuichi

Okamoto, Matsuyama, |apan, tor
“Lullaby.” 1 reel.

Childs

third prize

Jr., New Yorl
Delighted To!

for

City

reel

Filmo’s precision is axiomatic. Yet it is not pre-
cision for precision’s sake. It makes for perfect pic-
tures, to begin with; and it makes for simplicity of
operation and gratifying dependability year after year.

Until you have made your own movies with a Filmo
Personal Movie Camera — until you have seen them
on a Filmo Projector, you will not have had the

supreme thrill that lies in movie making. And because
Filmo Personal Movie Cameras and Projectors are
not expensive, the exciting experience of owning
them is open to every movie maker.

Call on your dealer today and look at Filmo
Cameras and Projectors. Or w'rite us for complete
literature.

BELL & HOWELL

1848 Larchmont Ave., Chicago; n West 4ind St., New York;
7x6 North La Brea Ave., Hollywood; 310 Regent St., London
(B & H Ltd.) Est. 1907.

FILMO

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

T HE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CINEMA-
TOGRAPHERS was founded in 1918 for
the purpose of bringing into closer confed-
eration and cooperation all those leaders in the
cinematographic art and science whose aim
is and ever will be to strive for pre-eminence
in artistic perfection and technical mastery of
this art and science. Its purpose is to further
the artistic and scientific advancement of the
cinema and its allied crafts through unceasing
research and experimentation as well as
through bringing the artists and the scientists
of cinematography into more intimate fellow-
ship. To this end, its membership is composed
of the outstanding cinematographers of the
world, with Associate and Honorary member-
ships bestowed upon those who, though not
active cinematographers, are engaged none the
less in kindred pursuits, and who have, by
their achievements, contributed outstandingly
to the progress of cinematography as an Art
or as a Science. To further these lofty aims,
and to fittingly chronicle the progress of cine-
matography, the Society’s publication, The
American Cinematographer, is dedicated.

RESEARCH COMMITTEE

Chairman, John F. Seitz
Dr. L. M. Dieterich
Hal Rosson

AMERICAN
SOCIETY OF
CINEMATOGRAPHERS

OFFICERS

JOHN ARNOLD
ARTHUR MILLER
FRANK GOOD
ELMER DYER
GEORGE SCHNEIDERMAN
WILLIAM STULL

President
First Vice-President
Second Vice-President
Third Vice-President
Treasurer
Secretary

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

John Arnold
John W. Boyle
Arthur Miller
Daniel B. Clark
Elmer Dyer
Arthur Edeson
Frank Cood

Alfred

Fred Jackman
Victor Milner
Hal Mohr
Ceorge Schneiderman
John F. Seitz
William Stull
Ned Van Buren

Cilks

PAST PRESIDENTS

Philip E. Rosen
Gaetano Caudio
James Van Trees
John W. Boyle
Fred W. Jackman

Hal Mohr
Homer Scott
John F. Seitz
Daniel B. Clark
Arthur Webb,
General Counsel

HONORARY MEMBER

Mr. Albert S. Howell, Chicago

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

Mr. Emery Huse
Mr. Fred Cage
Dr. W. B. Rayton
Dr, C. E. K. Mees

Dr. Herbert

Dr. Loyd A. Jones
Dr. V. B. Sease
Dr. L. M. Dieterich
Dr. J. S. Watson, Jr.
Meyer

PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE

John Arnold
Joseph Dubray
Georges Benoit
Harold Sintzenich
H. T. Cowling

Edwin L. Dyer
Ariel Varges
Charles Bell
Frank C. Zucker
John Dored

PRODUCTION COMMITTEE

Daniel B. Clark, Chairman.

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

Hal Rosson, Chairman

ENTERTAINMENT COMMITTEE

Frank B. Cood, Chairman

WELFARE AND RELIEF COMMITTEE

Arthur Miller, Chairman

EXHIBITION COMMITTEE

Arthur Miller, Chairman, Karl Struss,
Daniel B. Clark.

American Cinematographer • February 1933

The New
Model D

LEICA’S Standard 50mm. Elmar F:3.5 Lens
Can Be Used With The Valoy Enlarger • LEICA
Projectors * Stereo Attachment * Copying Apparatus * and

Micro Attachment

LEICA LENS DOES
ALL THIS WORK

ELMAR f :3.5
lens with
Valoy

ENLARGER

LEICA Camera
with micro 1 BSO
attachment

The LEICA camera is a marvel of
mechanical and optical perfection. Small,
compact, with all controls on top for
speed, accuracy and convenience. Built-
in short base range finder, coupled with
lens, gives you perfect focus instantly, eliminating
guesswork. Focal plane shutter of standard cloth
construction gives you accurate speeds of 1 / 2 0th to
1 /500th seconds, including time exposures. Price,
with standard 50mm. ELMAR f : 3 . 5 lens. $92.50.

Write for Free Illustrated Booklet

"Why LEICA?” — New monthly bulletin, LEICA
PHOTOGRAPHY, sent free to all registered Leica

owners.

E. LEITZ, INC.,

60 East 10th Street, New York

Dept.

234

Think of it — the same precision lens that
comes as standard equipment with your Leica
Camera for all pictures can also be used as a
projection lens, an enlarging lens, a stereo
lens, a copying lens, a micro lens. Leica
accessories are specially designed for use with
Leica lenses. When not in use for taking pic-
tures, the lens is easily and quickly removed
from the camera for other work; and it is
just as easily put back in place.

This is just one example of the versatility
and economy of the LEICA camera. But
that is not all. LEICA has 7 interchangeable
lenses for special photographic work, includ-
ing telephoto and wide angle lenses. There
are also over 200 LEICA accessories which
save time and money for LEICA
camera owners.

ELMAR f :3.5
lens with UD-
IMO projector

ELMAR f : 3 . 5 lens and LEICA camera with
Stereo Attachment.

The Pioneer 8 Years Ago
The Leader Today

ELMAR f : 3 . 5
lens and LEICA
camera, with
Focusing Copy
Attachment
and Stand.

■■P

On The
Pier

Karl Struss

A.S.C

I- • I

it i

Along The
Shore

Karl Struss

A.S.C.

LS L4 t/ve^ /^tsCLyCt

ofr a, BATTLE GROUND

# “Hit 'em!” Light floods the set;
the lamps grow hot; and inside the bulbs, the struggle
between temperature and glass and metal begins.

For temperature changes make glass and metal ex-
pand or contract; and in the stem of every lamp bulb,
glass is fused about the metal lead wires to form a seal
that must be constant if the lamp is to operate.
Obviously then, the glass and metal in the stem of a
lamp bulb must move hand in hand at every tempera-
ture; and in addition, the metal must be capable of
being “wetted” by the glass so that a close seal may
result.

No metal exactly fulfills these requirements. Plati-
num comes nearest to it and was first used to meet the
temperature attack. But platinum became steadily
more expensive to use. Another weapon had to be
found. General Electric scientists re-entered the fight;
they made hundreds of tests and experiments ; and finally
they developed a new wire, made up of two metals, one
brazed about the other as a sheath. This combination
wire, called “Dumet”, proved to be not only lower in
cost; it resulted in a much lower percentage of leaky
lamps, and thus brought about a double saving to you.

“Dumet” may not be the final step in this battle, but
it is typical of the development work constantly being
carried on by General Electric engineers and scientists.
And this research and development is one of the reasons
why you always find the highest quality in G. E. MAZDA
lamps. That motion picture studios all over the country
recognize this is shown by one fact: More and more,
they are using G. E. MAZDA lamps for all their lighting
purposes, from “set” lighting to special “process” shots.
General Electric Company, Nela Park, Cleveland, O.

GENERAL I® ELECTRIC

MAZDA LAMPS

ALWAYS LOOK FOR THIS MARK

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

First of A. S. C.

Tests on Equipment
Published Next Month

T HE program of testing cinematic equipment
and methods announced some months ago by
the American Society of Cinematographers is
now actively under way with committees work-
ing directly under John Arnold, president of the
society.

It is planned to announce the results of the
first tests in the March issue of the American
Cinematographer. The equipment now under
the scrutiny of the committee is in the 16 mm.
field.

The appointment of committees, the arrang-
ing of proper methods and places for the testing
of equipment, the securing of instruments and
other things necessary to properly scrutinize and
try-out the many things used in the making of
motion pictures has occupied the intervening
time of the society in their preparation for this
important work.

While the entire preliminary work for testing
of all pieces of equipment has not been com-
pleted, sufficient for the testing of several par-
ticular types has been gathered so that the work
can be started and carried on for several months,
at which time all arrangements will have been
carried out.

As previously announced this testing service
will be based primarily on the claims of the
manufacturer as to what his particular piece of
equipment will do. The claims as to its value in
comparison to competing articles of the same
manufacture will naturally not be considered, as
it is not the intention of the American Society of
Cinematographers to render this service so as to
establish one manufacturer’s goods over another’s,
but to make it possible for the buyer to purchase
equipment he needs in his work with confidence
and with the knowledge that it will perform
according to the claims of the manufacturer who
is responsible for it.

The claims as set forth by the manufacturer
will be made a part of the report in this paper

# When the above insignia appears on
a piece of photographic equipment or
in the advertisement of a manufacturer
it means that that particular article has
been thoroughly tested by the American
Society of Cinematographers, “The
Camera Masters of the World,” and ap-
proved by that organization as living up
to the claims made by the manufacturer
of that article and can be purchased with
confidence that it lives up to those
claims.

when the article is given the official approval of
the society. The purchaser can always demand
the privilege of reading those claims and the
remarks of the committee in relation to the
claims as determined by their tests of the instru-
ment in question.

The testing and approving gives the manu-
facturer who submits his article to the American
Society of Cinematographers, the privilege of
using on that article the approved label as it ap-
pears in connection with the report of that article
in the American Cinematographer.

This will take the form of the insignia of the
American Society of Cinematographers with the
word APPROVED written across it in large
letters followed by the name of the society.

The manufacturer not only has the privilege
of using this on the article itself, but also may
include it in his advertising, so that the purchaser
is familiar with the fact that it has been approved
when he decides to make his purchase.

The Amateur field was decided upon by the
Society to be the scene of their first activity as
the many hundreds of letters coming from the
amateur after this plan was announced evidenced
a keen interest in this testing plan. Furthermore,
the amateur does not possess the technical
knowledge of cinematic equipment that is
known to the professional, and it was felt that
as a first step the greatest service to the great-
est number would be to concentrate during the
first cycle of testing on equipment in the Ama-
teur field.

American Cinematographer • February 1933

Under some conditions, the new camera
may be used without a cover, less than a
yard from the microphone.

S OME months ago, officials of the Mitchell Camera
Corporation demonstrated before a meeting of the
American Society of Cinematographers a new studio
camera, in which great strides were made toward the
industry's goal of the truly noiseless cine camera. At that
time, Mr. Ceorge Mitchell, its designer, stated that although
he did not claim his camera to be the ultimate, perfectly
soundless camera, he did feel that it was a great step in
advance, since it was a very appreciable step toward that
goal, and also the first camera to be designed and built
specifically for sound-film cinematography. Since then,
the design has been refined in many details, and both the
convenience and the silence of operation have been con-
siderably improved.

The writer has been fortunate in being privileged to use
one of these new cameras for the major part of the photo-
graphic work on his current production for Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer, “Hell Below,’’ which is being made under the direc-
tion of jack Conway. While this test has not been in any
way connected with the testing program of the A.S.C. Re-
search Committee, it has been none the less gruelling, for
the camera was used, not as an extra camera, or as an object
for a single test, but as the regular production camera for
over 90 percent of a very difficult picture. The result may
best be summarized by the statement that in the unanimous
opinion of the writer, the director, the operative cinema-
tographers and the sound staff, the production (in the form
in which it was actually staged) absolutely could not have
been made without this noiseless camera. The conditions
encountered ranged from the studio stages to location-
work on submarines and destroyers at sea; a large majority
of the set-ups would have been absolutely impossible with
the heavy, bulky “blimps” and “bungalows” commonly used,
while the amount of dialog to be recorded precluded the use
of ordinary “silenced” cameras, even with blanket cover-
ings. Furthermore, the light weight and small bulk of the
noiseless camera expedited production markedly.

The construction of the new camera does not differ ma-

Using The Mitchell

terially from that of the original model described in the
AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER for July, 1931, by Wil-
liam Stull, A.S.C. A number of refinements have, however,
been added since then. Aside from certain changes in the
design and manufacture of the internal gearing, the most
important is in the means taken to control and eliminate
film-slap, which was found to be the source of a great part
of the noise remaining in the original model. This is done
by means of a series of idling rollers through which the film
passes: these control the loops, and minimize the noise
inherent in an intermittent design.

Equal in importance is the 48-cycle synchronous motor
used to drive the camera. This motor was developed by
John Arnold, A.S.C. It is absolutely noiseless, and prac-
tically vibrationless. In his description of the original model
of this camera, Mr. Stull commented on the fact that the
greatest stumbling-block had been the securing of adequately
silent motors, especially since the motors usually used with
the various sound systems had been designed for use with
silencing devices such as blimps or booths, and were in no
way silent. In addition, such motors generally operated
through reduction-gearing, which added to the noise. The
new 48-cycle motor developed by Mr. Arnold, however, is
absolutely noiseless. Together with the new camera, it
marks the greatest forward step in many years.

As in the original model, the camera case is thoroughly
insulated by the insertion of a layer of cork between the
inner and outer walls. The magazines are treated in the
same way, and further insulated from metallic contact with
the camera-head. Similar insulation is used between the
camera and the tripod-head.

The new camera has practically all of the conveniences
familiar before the advent of sound: a four-lens turret;
adjustable shutter, which may be adjusted between 0 degrees
and 170 degrees while the camera is in motion; a manually-
operated dissolve with a positive indicator at the rear of the
camera; and many similar refinements. Since the camera
requires no bulky blimp or other silencing device, it does
not need the cumbersome tripods and rolling tripods used
for the 500-lb. “bungalows,” but may be used with any
tripod adequate for studio use before the addition of sound.

In practical operation, the Mitchell Noiseless Camera
brings the general technique of camerawork back to what
it was in the days of silent pictures — light weight, un-
covered cameras, with all the flexibility and celerity of opera-
tion that any cinematographer could desire. In so far as
its silence is concerned, practical experience has demon-
strated that for all exterior work — including scenes made on
covered sets where the sound-waves have an opportunity to
dissipate rather than reverberate — the camera may be used
entirely uncovered except for very close work. With an
ordinary blanket covering, the camera may in such instances
be used within but two or three feet of the microphone.
It may also be used with little or no covering for most
work on closed stages except extreme closeups, such as occur
in love-sequences, where both camera and microphone work
extremely close to the player, and in which the dialog is
read at extremely low voice-levels, making necessary ab-
normal amplification of the sound.

The elimination of the heavy, bulky “blimps” and
“bungalows” naturally results in vastly quicker production
and incidentally in greater efficiency and economy, as a

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

Noise ess Camera

on Production

Hal Rosson, A.S.C.,

Member of Research Committee,
American Society of Cinematographers

special staff of stage-hands does not have to stand by to
assist in moving the heavy camera-housing from one setup
to the other, or to shift it from one tripod to another. This
naturally conserves a considerable amount of time, and on
the average permits a company to work at least 30 percent
faster than could be possible under the conditions now
regarded as normal.

From the sound-man’s viewpoint, the camera is also an

important improvement, according to Ralph Shugart, the
recording engineer in charge of “Hell Below.’’ He says,
“Unquestionably, this new noiseless camera has helped me
in my work. While it is by no means the 100 percent
silent camera that all of us dream about, it is none the less
the greatest step toward it that has yet been taken. It is
certainly quiet enough so that it can be used uncovered,
or with only a light blanket, in practically everything except
extreme closeups. Of course, no fixed rule can be laid
down for such a thing, as acoustical conditions differ
infinitely, and what may be entirely satisfactory at one time
may be entirely unsuitable at another: the general condi-
tions surrounding the set or location, the characteristics of
the area, the stage, and even the set itself change with each
set-up. So, too, do the requirements of each scene, for
while the action, dialog and background-noise in one scene
might permit a certain amount of camera-noise in the record,
the next — a highly dramatic scene or an intimate, close-up
love-scene, for instance — might preclude any suggestion of
camera or other sound. Nevertheless, this new camera is
sufficiently silent so that it is extremely welcome to the
sound-men.

“But I cannot stress too highly the fact that it was a
development from our own studio that has actually made
this new camera a practical thing. This development is Mr.
Arnold’s new 48-cycle synchronous motor. It is absolutely
noiseless. Were the new camera to be used without this
motor, it would be worthless, for while the camera itself is
quiet enough, the ordinary sound-system motors are not.

Continued on Page 37

Hal Rosson,
A.S.C., (right)
and Director
Jack Conway
discussing the
new Noiseless
Mitchell. Mr.

Conway is
indicating the
new idling
rollers which
eliminate the
film-slap.

American Cinematographer • February 1933

TREND

• AT THE Paramount stu-
dios, they have worked
out a plan, a mighty good
plan, the sort of thing that
should be in operation at
every studio “for the good of the production.”

It’s simple and common-sense. It’s just this. Before the
sets are painted, before the gowns are made for the actresses,
the cameraman is called in on the consultation as to the
color.

Color and light are two strongly influencing factors in
photography. The cameraman has been in charge of the
lights . . . the electrical crew on the set is under him, but
he has had nothing to say about the color the sets were to
be painted or the color of the gowns and costumes.

To secure the right harmony, color is important as it
influences the shadings and contrasts. The cameraman
knows just how color will photograph, what each color will
give him in connection with another color.

Regardless of how pleasing the color may be to the eye,
how beautiful a certain colored gown may appear on an
actress the final answer is its value in the picture and its
contrasting or harmonizing possibilities with the surround-
ing sets.

Before sets are painted, before gowns and costumes are
made, the head of the camera department should be con-
sulted for the good of the production.

• BY NOW the entire world knows that Clyde deVinna,

A.S.C., is an amateur radio enthusiast. They are familiar
with the fact that he knows his short waves like he knows
his photography and that he has been hibernating up in
Alaska working on a picture for MGM.

His recent close call with death from monoxide gas
thrown off from a gasoline heater and his being saved
through the co-operation of another amateur in New Zea-
land with whom he was chatting when his signals became
weaker and then finally ceased for no reason, was sensational
news. The New Zealand operator frantically clicked his
keys until he raised another operator in Carmel, California.
This operator is turn stuck to the job until he raised an
amateur in the same town in which deVinna was located.
This amateur rushed over and discovered deVinna just in
time to bring him back from the effects of the deadly
fumes.

However, now that it is all over and Clyde is still
with us we can look upon the occurrence in a happier mood,
and as some of the wits of Hollywood boulevard remark,
they cannot understand how Ciyde could permit a bit of
monoxide gas to overcome him when he has been facing
supervisors for so many years.

• THE trend is strong toward silent cameras. Last month
we announced details of the DeBrie camera which is in use
in Europe. In this issue we give the details of the silent

of the TIMES

camera worked out jointly by the Mitchell Camera Com-
pany and the Metro Coldwyn Mayer studios. Now that the
“blimp,” “bungalow” and other contraptions that have been
used for silencing purposes seem to be on their way to
limbo another important history in motion picture mechanics
is being written.

• SCIENTIFIC genius has again raised its head above the
studio turmoil in the announcement that Dr. L. M.
Dietrich, A.S.C., has developed a new and more economical
method for process work in motion pictures. While we
do not know the details of Dr. Dietrich’s method, a com-
plete description of its operation will be published in an
early issue of The American Cinematographer.

• IN THE great striving for economy we sometimes wonder
why some of the great Hollywood studios feed the maws
of the incinerators the thousands and thousands of dollars
worth of lumber each year they do. It is the practice of
these studios to get rid of the sets no longer serviceable by
burning them. And in the building trade many wreckers
of old houses have paid for the privilege of wrecking the
buildings for the material they could salvage. Surely some-
one in Hollywood is overlooking the possibilities of the
money in this by-product.

Clyde deVinna, A.S.C., whose life was
saved in Alaska by the quick work of an
amateur broadcaster in New Zealand.

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

1 1

Problems

of Recording M usic

David Mendoza"

of Warner Bros.

SUMMARY: The paper opens with a few remarks on the rela-

tion between the musician and the engineer, and refers particularly
to certain inadequacies in the recording and reproduction of music.
The improper acoustical construction of sets and the inappropriate
placing of artists and accompanists are alluded to. The difficulty
of satisfactorily recording background music is briefly discussed, and
a suggestion is made for overcoming the masking of dialog by back-
ground music. Further remarks are made on the size of sets and
various points of technic in recording and duping.

N DISCUSSING the practical problems that confront us
in the every-day experiences on the stages of the studio,
let us first disregard entirely the attitude of the industry
as a whole — disheartening, to say the least — toward all

endeavors of pioneering into new realms of imagination and
fantasy. I believe that you will agree that unless startling
improvements are made in the recording and reproducing
of sound pictures, even beyond what has been done up to
now, the industry may see a further divorcement between
the theatre and the audience than it has already seen.

The musician feels a common bond with the engineer, in
respect to the reproduction of sound, first, because as an
artist he depends so much upon the indulgence of the
engineer and, second, because he is keenly aware of the
well-nigh overwhelming technical problems. I have found
the great majority of “mixers” I have worked with to be
most genial and sympathetic; and have sometimes been
amazed at the appreciation shown by these men, not only
of sound as spoken of in decibels, but as regards a fine feel-
ing for music in all its components of inspirational value —
the balance of orchestration and the most illusive emotional
factors that comprise an artistic performance.

Many present-day troubles result from two factors: (1)
a lack of understanding of the other fellow’s problem, and
(2) the yet unconscious and unexpressed opinions of our
audiences at large as to their reactions to “sound.”

I feel that our stages are sorely lacking as to physical
proportions and proper material for the effective recording
of music. The stacking of deadening and in many instances
reflective sets is most harmful. Our orchestras are shunted
into all manner of positions and locations so as to be out
of the way, as it were, of camera lines, and to be “con-
veniently” placed. Soloists are usually placed at absurd
distances from the accompanists. Under such conditions,
balancing for the mixer becomes merely a catch-as-catch-can
affair. Even on the coast, with the stupendous stages found
on all the lots, the sets are generally built with a thought
only for the cameras.

Another factor that results from a lack of cooperation
and understanding between departments refers to the matter
of orchestration. The mixer generally hears the first per-
formance of the musical compositions in his monitor room,
and is not generally aware of some of the niceties of the
orchestration, which should be determined by the playback.

A few weeks ago we had occasion to place the orchestra
on a platform about four feet high, which happened to be
built for use as a bridge in a scene to be shot the next day.
By placing the orchestra on this platform, with its good air
space beneath and all the “life” resulting from the platform,
we were afforded one of the most satisfactory recordings
obtained in a long time. This is a point upon which I put
a great deal of stress, for orchestras are expensive and unless
we obtain satisfactory results the efforts and expenditure
involved will have been greatly vitiated.

Now we come to one of the most deplorable facts in con-
nection with music in motion pictures, namely, “back-
ground” music. Of course, where a picture is silent as far
as dialog is concerned, the music has a pretty good chance
to come through satisfactorily, but when the characters on
the screen speak, the music is wholly ineffective and in
any case unsatisfactory. If we were to have an orchestra
in the theatre to supply mood and background music for
pictures, the music should emanate from a source entirely
different from that from which the dialog would come. It
would be easy to “balance” the music and dialog, and lose
none of the effectiveness of either one or the other. Would it
not be possible to develop a double sound track, one on each
side of the film, and place the projecting horns at different
places in the proscenium of the theatre? One track could
carry the music and the other the dialog; the two tracks
could be reproduced on different systems and each could be
operated independently of the other and reproduced from

Continued on Page 30

* Reprinted from January issue of Journal of Society of Motiom
Picture Engineers.

American Cinematographer • February 1933

PHOTOGRAPHY

of the MONTH

“CAVALCADE”

photographed by Ernest Palmer, A.S.C.

Here again is a photographed stage-play: a production
which belongs more truly to the writers, players and director
than to the cinematographer. Nevertheless, Palmer has
done supremely fine work, for his photography is perfectly
keyed to the mood of the production in every scene; so
perfectly, in fact, that the average observer will probably
ask himself “was there any photography at all, or did I
really live these experiences?”

The adaptation of Noel Coward’s play is, dramatically
speaking, a curious mixture of stage and screen artifice:
here a sequence is carried largely by the artifices of the
stage — as in the episode of Queen Victoria’s funeral — and
here is one carried by the artifices peculiar to the screen —
as is the epsiode of the sinking of the “Titanic,” in which
the whole story is told by a simple trucking-shot to a close-
up of a life-preserver.

The war sequence, executed under the direction of Wil-
liam Cameron Menzies, is a remarkable example of the
understanding utilization of the dramatic potentialities of
the camera. The progress of the war is graphically depicted
by means of a series of optically-printed multiple-exposure
scenes which actually involved a negligible expenditure.
The sole criticism of these scenes, which serve as important
transitions, is that they are too long, and that they are per-
haps a trifle too modernistic in conception to jibe well with
the simplicity of the rest of the production. The optical
montage treatment at the climax of the production is inter-
esting, effective, and thoroughly in keeping with the mood
of that part of the film. William Darling and Earl Luick
deserve the greatest credit for their achievements in creating
the settings and costumes, respectively, for this exacting
production. The entire film, in a word, is one which reflects
the greatest credit upon the Fox organization as a whole,
and upon everyone connected with the production
individually. It is a film which demonstrates the possibili-
ties of the cinema if real enthusiasm and cooperation can be
inspired in every department, and maintained intact from
start to finish. Everyone in any way connected with the
motion picture industry, or interested in the cinema, should
see “Cavalcade,” not once, but many times.

“TONICHT IS OURS”

photographed by Karl Struss, A.S.C.

A photographed stage-play seldom gives unusual oppor-
tunities to the cinematographer; this one is no exception to
the rule, but Karl Struss has nevertheless made excellent
use of what opportunities were his. The production is a
fine example of the perfected photographic technique at-
tained by the greater masters of the cinematograph today;
the compositions are above average throughout, the light-
ing natural, and exceedingly skillful; and the general
mechanics of a high order. There are a number of very
interesting effect-lighted scenes in the film, and some of
the closeups of Claudette Colbert are surpassing examples
of the best type of modern cinematographic portraiture.

“NO OTHER WOMAN”

photographed by Edward Cronjager

This is one of those productions in which the cinema-
tographer was obviously striving against difficulties for a
definite artistic goal, and was prevented by those difficulties
from achieving all that he had visualized. Nevertheless,
Cronjager has given us some excellent cinematography
throughout the picture, climaxed by some unusually fine
effect-lightings in the earlier sequences. These — there are
both exteriors and interiors — represent the nocturnal aspect
of the district immediately adjacent to the Pittsburgh steel
mills: the incessant, flickering light of the huge blast
furnaces and converters give the cinematographer something
with which to paint a background of more than ordinary
effectiveness.

“STATE FAIR”

photographed by Hal Mohr, A.S.C.

This production is in its own right a beautiful example
of the finer type of modern dramatic cinematography — but
it is especially noteworthy as being perhaps the finest
example of the utility and artistic flexibility of modern
process cinematography yet released. At least 65 percent
of the footage of “State Fair” has been made with the
transparency-projection process, yet throughout it all Hal
Mohr has maintained the same fine quality of feeling, of
dramatic mood and lighting that he has used in the
normally-made sequences. This is a really important
achievement, for most process cinematography heretofore
has been in isolated scenes or, at most, brief sequences,
wherein the lighting was matched as closely as possible
(this has at times been none too close!) to that of the sur-
rounding, normally-staged scenes. In this case, the prob-
lem was different: not merely to match, more or less ac-
curately, the mood and technique of more important and
lengthy scenes with which the process shots were to be
intercut, but to create and maintain a dramatic mood in
process sequences which perforce formed a major part of
the production. It is a tribute alike to Mohr’s artistry
and to the flexibility of the projection process. Moreover,
the use of this process undeniably saved the Fox Company
a vast deal of expense and difficulty, for it enabled them
to utilize authentic backgrounds of a big middle-western
state fair without the almost impossible task of filming an
important production, with a tremendously expensive cast,
two thousand miles away from the studio, and in the midst
of a vast and supremely curious crowd. Moreover, the
photographic quality is far better in every respect than
could have been possible under such conditions; and in spite
of the difficulties of working so much under the restrictions
of process cinematography, none of the players have ever
been photographed to better advantage.

One must also mention the ingenious conception of one
sequence played in Sally Eilers’ bedroom: in this (it is a
night-effect sequence) the dramatic action is forwarded
solely by the dialog of two unseen players, and the visual
portion of the picture consists entirely of highly pictorial
shots of the walls and ceiling of the room, broadly patterned
with the light and shadows cast by the street-lamp outside.

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

Victor
Milner,

A.S.C.

^Miscasting 77

The Cinematographer

Victor Milner, A.S.C.

T O MACK Sennett, a man throwing a custard-pie can
often be a pivotal point of a picture; a vital factor
always. To Ernst Lubitsch or Rouben Mamoulian,
he is merely a man throwing a custard-pie. Sennett would
be completely out of his element were he to attempt the
direction of a dramatic film like “The Man I Killed’’ or
“The Song of Songs”; Lubitsch or Mamoulian would be
equally out of place if assigned to direct slapstick comedy.

The producers recognize this. They recognize that a
director is not merely a skilled workman, an animated
automaton, but a creative artist who works efficiently only
when doing that type of work to which he feels suited —
on assignments which arouse both his confidence and his
enthusiasm. Very frequently indeed, a producer will relieve
a director of an assignment which does not arouse his en-
thusiasm rather than imperil the success of the picture by
forcing the issue.

It is the same with writers and artists: under the present
conditions — economic and otherwise — of the industry, it is

doubly vital that every creative artist participating in the
production of a motion picture be enthusiastic about the
project in hand, and about his individual part in particular.

But the producers are overlooking one vital factor in
this: the cinematographer. Upon him devolves the

responsibility for transferring the work of all the others into
tangible form — of capturing action, plot and setting upon
the tiny strip of celluloid which is finally exhibited in the
world’s theatres. This requires more than mere skilled
craftsmanship: it requires creative artistry in no smaller
measure than is required by direction, writing or acting.
For the cinematographer in charge of the photography of a
dramatic production cannot be content to make a mere com-
mercial record of what is enacted before his lens; he must
capture the dramatic mood of each scene just as surely as
must director and players. He must bring to the eyes of
the audience the visual effects of tone, form, motion and
chiaroscuro which will best heighten the emotional effects
sought by the director, and which will make them most
receptive to these emotions.

Granted, then, that the cinematographer, too, is a highly
creative artist, it must follow that he, no less than the other
creative minds concerned in the production of a film must
feel suited to the requirements of the task in hand; that
he must be equally filled with confidence and enthusiasm
for the picture and for his part in its realization.

Yet how are the majority of photographic assignments
made? Is the individual camera-artist consulted as to
whether or not he feels that he fits into the picture? Not
once in a thousand times! The studio has, as a rule, a
certain number of cinematographers under contract; when
a given picture is ready for production, one or two of these
men may be available — or perhaps the studio can “borrow”
a man from some other film’s contract list. In any event,
the handiest man is called, and told (not asked) “You will
start such-and-such a picture tomorrow.” He may or may
not be given an opportunity to acquaint himself with the
story, and with the director’s conception of what the pic-
ture should eventually be. Whatever may be the case, he
is chosen practically at random, simply because he is avail-
able, with little or no regard for his artistic and psychological
fitness or unfitness for the assignment.

I will admit that there is a certain amount of commercial
logic in this procedure, in so far as it keeps the studio’s
contract personnel working more or less constantly, and
eliminates the expense of delaying production until a suit-
able man may be available: but in the long run, is not this
being “penny-wise and pound-foolish”? The cinematog-
rapher’s contribution to the realization of a picture is of as
great importance as the contribution of the director, play-
ers, writers or unit-manager. He — and he only — can bring
things to the screen as they have been visualized by the
scenarist and director; he only can attune the visual mood
of the picture to the dramatic mood of the story; he only
can assure that the players are photographed to their best
advantage, and that the expensive settings appear properly
on the screen. He, moreover, can make or break the morale
— and the ultimate efficiency — of a production unit: he can
make it a smooth-running machine or an inefficient, in-
harmonious mob of individuals.

Obviously, every cinematographer worthy of his salt will
instinctively strive to do his best on every assignment; but
he cannot completely succeed in doing so when the picture
is one in which he does not feel some measure of personal
confidence and enthusiasm, or when the individual
psychological factors governing his relations with the di-
rector, players and other personnel of the unit are not
conducive to harmonious, efficient work. The cinema-
tographer is, fortunately, far from being a temperamental

Continued on Page 36

American Cinematographer • February 1933

RIDDLE

Cooperation between the
cinematographer and the
laboratory is undeniably vital
to the success — artistic, technical and economic —
of the visual phases of a production. How, there-
fore, can this cooperation be furthered?

HENRY SHARP, A.S.C. ‘Cooperation between the cinema-
tographer on the set and the laboratory which processes
his film is unquestionably desirable. We have, moreover,
made a great deal of progress in this direction within the
past few years: the cinematographer no longer feels that
the laboratory man is trying to give him the blame for the
laboratory s shortcomings, nor does he himself use the
laboratory as an invariable alibi; conditions have reached the
point where each knows that the other must inevitably be
a competent workman. During the past year I have worked
with a number of different major and independent pro-
ducers, whose work was done by a number of different
laboratories, both studio-owned and commercial: and I have
found that so long as I did my own work well, I had nothing
to fear from the laboratory. To my mind, the answer to
the question is that the most necessary things are closer
personal contact between the cinematographer and the
laboratory, and a more conscious effort for consistency on
the part of both. If I know within very close limits what
to expect from the laboratory, I can usually manage to suit
my work to their requirements; if they know within equally
close limits what to expect in the film I send them, they,
too, can adapt their procedure. But if either of us is
constantly shifting, neither of us can hope to turn out a
creditable job. As long as both of us remain constant,
neither has anything to fear.”

FRED CAGE, A.S.C.. Superi ntendent, Warner Bros. -First
National Studio Laboratory: ‘‘To my mind, the key to the
situation is personal contact. No matter how perfect a
laboratory may be, or how capable the cinematographer,
both are essentially human machines. And the human
element demands personal contact. Tests, machine-de-
velopment, densitometry and every other scientific,
mechanical and routine safeguard that mind can devise
cannot be infallible; they help, but they cannot take the
place of personal contact. Even under today’s curtailed pro-
duction-schedules, the first cinematographer can almost
always find some moment during the day to drop into the
laboratory to see that we understand what he is trying to
do on the set; and the busiest laboratory-men can always
find time to discuss their problems with the men who ex-
pose the negative. The vital thing is for both to do it!
If the two will cooperate in this way, they will find that,
together, they can master any difficulty.”

CEORCE FOLSEY, A.S.C. “To my mind the most important
thing is real mutual confidence. If I have confidence in the
laboratory that is handling my negative, I feel free to go
ahead and do things that I would not dare to do if I felt
that the laboratory and its personnel were not competent;
if they can feel that I, too, am a capable workman, their
work is also lightened. Each of us feels free to do our best

ME THIS

work, without any shadow of doubt that the other will
spoil it.

"Such confidence and cooperation is by no means Utopian.
It actually exists in many cases today. It was not so, by
any means, in the past; I recall one instance, some years
ago, where such confidence and its resultant cooperation
existed, in an Eastern laboratory Following a change of
management, the men in the vital positions of the laboratory
were replaced with men who may have been competent,
but in whose judgment none of the cinematographers felt
confident. As a result, the work of every cinematographer
using that laboratory deteriorated rapidly: not so much, I
believe, from any definite fault of the laboratory personnel,
but because the confidence of the cinematographers was
gone. One felt impelled to work conservatively, to always
leave a margin for the bad judgment of the laboratory men;
to produce a commercial lighting, a commercial negative,
rather than the best one was capable of producing.

“Since I have been working on the Pacific Coast, I have
been amazed at the perfect relations applying in many cases
between the cinematographers and the laboratory men. Not
only are both experts in the truest sense of the word, but
each trusts and respects the ability of the other. If one
of these laboratory men tell me I am wrong, I know that I
am; and I know that they understand my problems and my
aims. If I fail when working with such men, I have only
myself to blame; when I succeed, it is due in a great measure
to the fact that there existed perfect confidence and perfect
cooperation between myself and my laboratory.”

GEORGE CRANE, Consolidated Film Laboratory, “Coopera-
tion between the cinematographer and the laboratory
technicians is desirable in any case, but it is absolutely vital
in the case of the commercial laboratory. There, the busi-
ness element enters: one man is the buyer, the other the
seller, of a valuable service. Without sincere cooperation
on the part of botn, this relation is often likely to prevent
each from doing his best work; to give each a tendency to
use this relation as an alibi. It also tends to make both
the laboratory man and the cameraman reluctant to discuss
their mutual problems frankly and outspokenly.

“Personal contact between the two is, therefore, doubly
vital to the success of the production; so, too, is genuine
mutual confidence. To my mind, however, the most prac-
tical plan is what might be termed individualized standard-
ization: let the individual producer or cinematographer
determine in advance just what laboratory treatment will
be best suited to the production in hand. Then the labora-
tory can consistently develop their negative to this pre-
determined gamma. The inevitable result of this will be
to the advantage of all concerned: the cameraman will know
exactly what to light, filter and expose for; the laboratory
man will know exactly what to do, and be confident that
the film will be photographed exactly for that treatment;
and the producer will be rewarded with better and more
consistent photography and processing.”

jOHN ARNOLD, A.S.C., “ From the viewpoint of the big
studio, I feel that the most vital phase of the problem is
having someone who understands both practical laboratory
work and practical camerawork as a middle-man to supple-

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

ment the always important personal contact between the
individual cinematographer and the laboratory. Someone
who can not only study the dailies, and determine just who
is at fault in the event of any difficulties, but who can go
on the set and show the cinematographer — in terms he is
accustomed to — just how he can remedy his troubles. Hav-
ing had practical experience in this myself, I realize that
there is a vast difference between being told by the labora-
tory that my scenes are too flat, and being shown (on the
set) how to rearrange or modify my lighting so as to give
the laboratory a better break while yet getting the effects
I am striving for. Experience in many studios, and during
many years has repeatedly proven the value of having such
a man in an executive position in either the Camera De-
partment or the Laboratory, or both, for such a liaison-
officer between these two vital departments can save time,
money, and tempers.”

JOHN M. NICKOLAUS, Laboratory Head, Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer Studio.

‘‘To my mind, the question can be reduced to a very few
words: forget all alibis — and make a conscious effort to help
the other fellow. It was not so very long ago when no
laboratory man would ever admit that he could be wrong,
or that any cinematographer was capable, and no camera-
man would ever believe that the laboratory crew were better
than murderers and incompetents. Under such conditions,
neither the photography nor the laboratory work could pos-
sibly be satisfactory. Fortunately, times have changed:
now-a-days each of us has grown tc realize that the other
fellow is not only a human being, but a pretty good fellow
and (since he is holding down a highly specialized and exact-
ing position) a darn good workman. In our own laboratory
here at M-C-M and also, I am sure, in most of the others
— whenever anything is not 100 percent satisfactory, it has
become a fixed habit to first scrutinize our own work
before saying anything about the other fellow’s.

‘‘In the old days, such a circumstance would have
brought everyone in the laboratory into my office, vocif-
erously damning the cameraman — and the cinematographer
would quickly show up, complaining just as loudly about
the lousy laboratory. Today, the same people will troop into
my office: but the laboratory crew will be worrying for
fear that they haven’t done as well as they should with the
cameraman’s film — and the cameraman will be asking,
‘‘What did I do that made it hard for the lab men?”

‘‘That is real progress. But there is danger in it, for
with each man striving to do his own work so well that
it will help the other, and realizing that the other chap is
an outstandingly good technician, we are as a rule so suc-
cessful and so fortunate that there is a growing tendency
to take each other’s ability for granted. Now, the best of
cinematographers and the best of laboratories can’t click
100 percent without each other’s active help. I have found
that inevitably the best and most consistent photography is
that turned out by the first cameramen who make a fixed
practice of dropping in at the laboratory in the evening
before their dailies are developed, and talking it over with
the negative man, and again in the morning, to make sure
that the type of lighting, etc., that they have been using
has been such as enables us to turn out a satisfactory print.
There have been other men — equally capable, sometimes
even brilliant cinematographers — who feel so confident,
either in their own or the laboratory’s capabilities that they
never bother to come near the lab; these men, good as
they are cannot always be lucky, for no amount of ability
on either side can ever take the place of personal contact
between the cameraman and the laboratory man: sooner

The bust as shown in the bottom photograph was
set up in a totally dark room in the Kodak
Research Laboratories, in front of a camera, faced
by two electric irons. After an hour’s exposure,
the top photograph resulted — with the bust
“illuminated" by heat from the irons. The infra-
red rays from the heated irons turnished the
illumination.

or later some unexpected light-effect or perhaps even an
out-and-out mistake on the part of one or the other, will
bring trouble.

‘‘On the whole, however, the relations of the cameramen
and the laboratory are enormously improved, as is reflected
by better photography and laboratory work, and by more
efficient and economical production. What is needed now
is — as always — continued mutual confidence and continued
(or, if possible, increased) personal contact between the
man who exposes the film and the men who develop and
print it.”

American Cinematographer • February 1933

The Difference
Between Gamma
and Contrast

Emery Huse, A.S.C.

Part 21 ... of ^Principles
of Sensitometry and their
Practical Application^

T HERE has always been some confusion relative to the
relationship which exists between gamma and contrast.
In the last article gamma was completely defined as
being the slope of the straight line portion of the H and D
curve.

Referring again to Figure 19, Part 19 it will be readily
observed that the straight line portion of the curve exists
only between A and B and therefore if gamma is the slope
of this straight line it can only refer to that portion of the
curve or, in other words, it can only refer to the densities
falling in that region of the curve, which densities were
caused by the exposure values contained between points
M and N.

It has been stated previously that there are three major
portions to the H and D curve, the toe, or the region of
under-exposure, which is contained between C and A; the
straight line, the region of correct exposure between A and
B; and the shoulder, or the region of over-exposure, which
is contained between B and D. It must be remembered
that the complete H and D curve covers a wide range of
exposures and this range is appreciably greater than is neces-

sary for the photographing of any object. To explain con-
trast we must consider density because contrast is a function
which is observed by an examination of the densities con-
tained in the photographic image. Therefore, for any
photographic image the contrast is the difference existing
between the maximum and minimum densities in that image.
In considering contrast from the standpoint of the H and D
curve it is necessary to determine on both the toe and the
shoulder the point at which the gradient or slope is .20.
It can be seen that in the toe the gradient is gradually
increasing until it reaches the straight line in which part
of the curve the gradient is constant. In the shoulder the
gradient is a gradually decreasing function. By constructing
tangents at various points along the toe and shoulder it is
possible to locate that point in each where the gradient is
.20. The density difference existing between these two
points then gives a measure of the contrast. From figure
19, a .20 gradient on the toe would be slightly above point
C, while a .20 gradient on the shoulder would be slightly
below point D. Contrast, therefore, includes densities which
are not part of the straight line portion of the curve, the
slope of which is called gamma. Only in the case of sound
recording negative can gamma and contrast be used
synonymously, for in that type of work only the straight line
portion of the H and D curve is used.

A Note on the Chemistry of Development

Ever since the introduction of the borax type developing
formulas several years ago for the development of picture
negative there has been in the practical field a lack of
understanding as to the basic reason why this type of de-
veloper is productive of a very much finer grained result
than the hitherto normal elon-hydroquinone-carbonate type.
Misunderstanding has led to the general belief that the fine
grain resulting from development in the borax formula was
due to the borax, which after all is only the alkali or ac-
celerator in the developer. The fact of the matter is that
the sodium sulphite which is used in large quantities in the
borax developer is the chemical which is doing the bulk of
the work toward the production of fine grained results.

Sodium sulphite is a solvent for the silver bromide in the
emulsion and forms a complex salt of silver bromide-sodium
sulphite which is soluble in the developing solutions. This
solvent action takes place as a side reaction during develop-
ment and the silver complex is then slowly reduced to
metallic silver which settles out on the walls of the develop-
ing tank and precipitates in the solution as a gray sludge.

It can be seen by comparing the standard borax formula
with the elon-hydroquinone-carbonate type of developer that
the amount of sulphite in the borax formula is much greater.
Therefore, aside from the chemical aspect it becomes quite
evident that the fine grained results are accomplished by
the solvent action of the sodium sulphite. The borax is of
no consideration in the production of fine grained results,
it being simply a weak alkali and because of this fact the
general borax type developer is slow acting.

It is interesting to note that current practice in the de-
velopment of sound track negative of the variable density
type makes use of a modified borax solution. It should
be pointed out in this instance that the choice of the borax
developer for this purpose is not to produce fine grained
results but rather to make use of the slow acting borax de-
veloper with the recording negative films which are of posi-
tive, and therefore high, contrast characteristics. It is gen-
erally known, of course, that the graininess resulting from
positive film is much less than that resulting from negative
and the use, therefore, of the borax formula does very little
toward making graininess less on this positive type of film.

HERE ARE

3 LANDMARKS

1 • . . The first motion picture film
. . . invented by Eastman

2 ... The first panchromatic motion
picture film . . . invented by Eastman

3 • . • The first super-speed panchro-
matic motion picture film . . . invented
by Eastman

,l three of these inventions were vital fac-

tors in the progress of the motion picture
art. The latest of them, Eastman Super-sensi-
tive Panchromatic Negative, has virtually
revolutionized motion picture procedure, and
plays a stellar role in the finest productions
of the day.

EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY

J. E. BRULATOUR, INC., DISTRIBUTORS

NEW YORK CHICAGO HOLLYWOOD

American Cinematographer • February 1933

WHEELS

• AN EMULSION Speed Table has been
compiled by Hugo Meyer & Co. for
Dremoscope, Leicascope, Drem Cine-
meters, and other exposure meters. This
table gives the speed for eight different
brands of film, manufactured both here
and abroad. It is available free of charge
for the asking by writing Hugo Meyer &
Co., 245 W. 55th St., New York City.

This company is also distributing a
new series of Drem Exposure Meters,
which includes the Dremoscope for still
photography, the Drem Cinemeter for
Cine Work and the Leicascope for the
Leica camera.

necessary to indicate the complete range
of all the lenses.

The Vidom finder, however, includes
the fields of all lenses. By means of an
ingenious device, the field is masked by
turning a knurled collar located on the
outside of the finder. By simply turning
the collar to the lens field wanted, the
mask glides to the exact field as seen by
that particular lens. This device is said
to produce a clear, brilliant field.

Another feature of the Vidom is the
correction for parallax. A tiny lever
situated directly below the eye-piece of
the finder can be moved to tilt the finder
up or down so as to correspond with the
exact field of the lens at any given dis-
tance.

• THE MUCH discussed Megoflex critical
focusers and viewfinders which were

first displayed at the Leipzig Fair in
March have been put on the market in
America by Hugo Meyer & Company.

The Megoflex really makes a Reflex
Camera out of the Leica, Contax and
Peggy Cameras. They claim two dis-
tinct advantages for the users of these
small cameras. First, the Megoflex lens
focuses simultaneously with the two-inch
camera lens, and secondly, the full pic-
ture size image is seen.

In principle it is a small camera
(adjustable twin lens camera) of folding
type. The lens, which is a high grade
anastigmat, throws the picture on to a
horizontal focusing screen, 24x36 mm.
The lens is claimed to be of identical
focus to that fitted to either the Peggy,
Contax or Leica; Leitz Elmar 50 mm.,
Zeiss Tessar 50 mm. and Xenon 45 mm.

After both lenses are coupled the
focusing movements are synchronized.

In addition to being able to focus at
eye height and waist height, the folder
describing the Megoflex demonstrates
five other positions in which the camera
can be held.

• THE NEW Vidom Universal View
Finder for Leica Cameras is now avail-
able. It possesses several new features
over the older model. The former model
had the various fields of view as given
by the various lenses engraved upon the
lens of the finder, and because of this,
the fields of all the Leica lenses could not
be included, two models of finders being

• A NEW combination printer is an-
nounced this month by E. Leitz, Inc.,

60 East 10th Street, New York City.
This printer is said to accommodate all
miniature camera sizes of negatives. It
comes as a complete unit, incorporating
its own illumination, which is controlled
by means of an adjustable rheostat,
spring-button light control, fixed ruby
light for viewing the position of the nega-
tive in relation to the sensitive material,
and various other features which make
printing extremely simple and easy.

Aside from paper contact prints, this
combination printer is said to accom-
modate miniature negatives from stand-
ard cinema film as made in cameras such
as the LEICA, MEMO, etc., printing them
on positive film strips which can be used
for film slide purposes, and negatives
from miniature cameras producing the
half-vest pocket size negatives (3x4cm) ,
printing these on the popular 50x50 mm.
square glass slides. It is claimed all types
of miniature negatives can be printed
on these glass slides.

• A TINY accessory which will be of
interest to a great many LEICA camera

owners is the new self-timer which has
just recently been announced. It consists
of a rather thin metal tube which is
screwed onto the shutter-release button
of the LEICA. In operation, it is ex-
tremely simple and efficient.

There are often times when the LEICA
camera can be used at waist-level to good
advantage. A reflecting view finder is
offered which permits this with the ut-
most ease. The reflecting view finder is

INDUSTRY

merely slipped into the grooved holder
on top of the camera. By looking down
into the finder, the exact area covered
by the lens can be seen at a glance. This
finder can also be used as an angle view
finder, for it is supplied with a stud which
permits it to be used on its side. This
makes it usable when photographing an
object at right angles to the direction
the photographer is facing.

• A FILTER holder and sun shade has
been announced by the Hollywood

Camera Exchange, especially designed for
the Leica camera.

It is constructed in two parts with the
filter placed in the center of the two
pieces to firmly hold it in place. It is a
light, small, neatly designed holder made
of aluminum, machined to fit on the
lens.

• FOR the making of movable-letter
animated titles, the Bell & Howell

Company has developed a new Character
Title Writer for use with Filmo Cameras.

This new unit makes use of two 100
watt, 110-115 volt lamps that are sil-
vered on one side, and so provide their
own reflectors. Also, the lamps are of a
more or less spherical form, which affords
necessary ventilation around the filament
to permit their use in the horizontal posi-
tion which the lamps assume when the
Title Writer is used vertically.

This new model can be used in a
Continued on Page 35

New Bell & Howell
Title Writer

AMATEUR SECTION

February 1933 • American Cinematographer 19

AMATEUR

SECTION

Contents . . .

ENLARGEMENTS from 16 MM. Film

by Hatto Tappenbeck, A.S.C 20

KODACOLOR Experiences and Experiments

by H. M. Armstrong 21

WIPE-OFFS — How to Make Them

by Frank B. Good, A.S.C 22

LIGHTING for Home Movies

by S. W. Childs, Jr ... 23

I MADE My Own 16 MM. Camera

by Raymond Harvey 24

A NEW Stop Motion Device

by Alan C. Wooley & George W. Morris 26

HERE'S How

by Members A.S.C 28

Next Month . . .

• CONTINUITY FOR THE AMATEUR ... an article that will interest
every amateur motion picture maker, written by T. B. Hoffman,

winner of the prize for the Ideal Home Movie in 1932.

• THE TITLE ... Its Importance ... in this an amateur, August
Wolfram, tells you right straight from the shoulder what he has

discovered in his experience in making titles and placing them.

• AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY . . . here another amateur shows you that
he has dug deeply into an exciting phase of motion picture making.

Lieutenant R. C. Wriston of the Air Corp. . . . you’ll admit he knows
his clouds.

• WHEN A PROFESSIONAL TURNS AMATEUR ... a member of the
A.S.C. makes a confession ... he tells you what he found out about

the 16 MM. camera he uses in his off moments . . . No, it’s not the
story of the street-car conductor who took a street car ride on his
off day. He makes interesting comparisons.

• WE TEST 16 MM. EQUIPMENT . . . The results of the first tests of
16 mm. equipment as made by the American Society of Cinematog-
raphers will be given you next month.

O HERE'S HOW ... in which members of the American Society of
Cinematographers answer the questions of the amateur.

American Cinematographer • February 1933

AMATEUR SECTION

Enlargements
From 16 mm. Film

Hat-to Tappenbeck, A.S.C.

N considering methods of enlargements let us first admit

that it is impossible to get anything in the reproduction

that the original does not contain.

In going through the experiments in endeavoring to find
what would give the best enlargement from 16 mm. reversal
film, many different developing formulas were used . . .
many different grades and kinds of paper were also used.

An effort was made to reduce grain to bring out every-
thing that the original contained.

At the right of this page you are given the reproduction
of three different enlargements. The two top illustrations
are enlargements made from 16 mm. film, while the bottom
enlargement was made from an 8 mm. film.

These printed reproductions are not as pleasant to the eye
as was the photographic enlargement from which they
were made.

Four different negative developers were used in this ex-
periment. Borax, D-72, MQ-20 and Pyro. Borax was
found to give the best results.

Without going into the many different papers used, let’s
settle quickly on the best and the reason this paper was
decided upon.

Because of the lack of detail in the usual enlargement of
16 mm. film, it was found that normal paper with a rough
surface gave the most pleasant appearance. Where detail
was lacking on glossy paper, as for instance in the child
at the left in the lower picture, this paper, because of its
uneven surface, seemed to supply it. The harshness around
the eyes of the woman in the center picture was greatly
softened with the use of this paper. Vitava Opal Z paper
was finally settled upon as giving the most satisfactory
results in this experiment.

Another important discovery was that an enlargement
from the negative was more satisfactory than a direct print.
A 4 x 5 commercial ortho negative was made in each
instance. Commercial ortho was selected as it gives a wider
latitude of control. From this 4x5 negative the enlarge-
ments made ranged from slightly larger than this to 1 lxl 4’s.
An analysis of the different sized enlargements conclusively
demonstrated that these enlargements should never be
smaller than 8x10 for 16 mm. The reproduction of the
8 mm. shown on this page was made from a 7 x 10 enlarge-
ment.

The reproduction of the top picture of the girl holding
the ball was really a fine piece of work. In this instance it
is evident from the engraver’s reproduction that there was
a lot more in the original 16 mm. positive from which to
work.

The reason enlargements give the greatest satisfaction is
that they apparently throw the grain out of focus causing
it to be less noticeable in the finished picture. The main
objection to the smaller reproduction has been that it gives

Continued on Page 34

AMATEUR SECTION

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

Enlargements made by Mr. Arm-
strong from 16 mm. Kodacolor film.

Kod

aco or

xperiences

and Experiments

H. M. Armstrong

Kodacolor Amateur

T is always nice to understand the technical foundations
of any photographic process you may be using but it is
not always essential. The technical intricacies of the
Kodacolor process, for instance, are very interesting; but
•you can make good color films even if you don’t know

how the color is obtained — and you can make bad ones
even though you know just how and why everything in
the process is as it is. In my own case, for example, I
made some of my best Kodacolor scenes long before I
had any clear idea of how the color-effects were formed.
So I will not attempt any boresome explanation of the
technical basis of Kodacolor. Other writers, better qual-
ified than I, have done that better, anyway — so why should
I repeat?

Relatively speaking, I am rather an old-timer in Koda-
color, for I bought my Kodacolor outfit back in 1929 —
before I had even seen a Kodacolor film. When I received
the outfit it was the latter part of March — a time of year
when the scenery of Maine is, with the exception of the
pines, spruce and balsams, hardly very colorful. But for-
tunately I live close to the seacoast, and a few minutes
walk brought me to the rocky shore. Here I was able
to obtain pictures composed of the blue sky, the blue-green
ocean and the mossy grey rocks with the foamy surf pound-
ing in, and an occasional boat passing in the background.
In due time the roll came back from the processing-plant
and I showed it to my expectant friends. The pictures
were far better than my expectations, for not only was
the color wonderful, but at times the scenes showed a
stereoscopic effect that I have often since admired — and
tried to recapture. From that day to this I have been a
confirmed Kodacolorist.

As the seasons progressed to Apple Blossom Time I
obtained more and more pictures. The apple-blossoms offer
an ideal subject for the color enthusiast. I remember one
tree in particular: it looked to me like a girl with a new
dress — beautiful, and proud of it. Unfortunately when
I discovered this tree I had already exposed all of the
film I had at hand; but the next day I hurried out to
obtain some pictures of this tree. Alas, overnight the
blossoms had dropped — and my picture was gone. But
next year I remembered, and came back for my picture!

One of the best of my earlier scenes was one of a
white-blossomed cherry-tree dancing in the wind, with a
waterfall tumbling in the background. These two motions
gave the impression of a revolving movement which I have
since found to be one of the secrets of successful Koda-
color. Color cinematography is not merely a matter of
color-harmony, for although this is important, and should
be carefully studied, one must also understand the harmony
of rhythm and movement. The principal parts of the pic-
ture should not only be harmonious in color, but in move-
ment as well.

At another time, I made use of the blueness of a
river. I tried it in a scene with a girl in an orchid-
colored dress in the foreground, with the river in the
background, winding down across the meadow like a gleam-
ing blue ribbon. For this, I had to know about the depth
of focus. With the camera set at infinity so that the
background would be in focus, how close to the camera
could the girl come — and still be in focus? Finally I
began my long-shot, had the girl come in to position, then
moved the camera closer, and continued. In this I was
helped by a story I had read some time previously, telling
how in the case of a professional company on location,
the director would make the players hold their exact
positions while the cameras were moved up, and then start
the action all over again — thereby avoiding the jumps that
would otherwise occur. The amateur can learn a great
deal about the making of pictures from studying and
reading about the work of his professional fellows.

I think that every Kodacolor user should have a depth
of focus table and study it in planning every scene. It

Continued on Page 30

American Cinematographer • February 1933

AMATEUR SECTION

Wipe-Offs

How To Make Them

Frank B. Good, A.S.C.

W IPE-OFFS have been a part of the professional
cinematographer’s kit of tricks for many and many
a year. When he discovered this innovation he
was more or less in the same position the amateur is in
today so far as tools for this particular thing was con-
cerned.

He had to use his ingenuity and devise the methods used
for this work. Today his mechanical apparatus is not called
into use so much, as many of these things are now done
in the laboratory.

Because of the method of handling reversal film it is
practically impossible for the laboratory to put into the
picture things the amateur has not put into them in his
camera, so the matte box and sun shade with its myriad of
possibilities becomes an important tool to that amateur
who wants to dress his picture up a bit.

The wipe-off is a fine effect for quick transitions ... it
supplants the fade-out with the amateur who is now com-
pelled to resort to the shutting down of his lens for this
effect but it does not always come back as a fade-out from
the laboratory because of the automatic method of handling
the reversal film.

As one of the judges of the Amateur Contest conducted
by this magazine I saw many attempts at these wipe-offs.
It was evident some of them were made without the use
of a matte box or sun-shade. The amateur evidently drew
his black card directly across the lens. This method does
not give a sharp, well-defined line, but is inclined to fuzz
a bit. It is necessary to get some distance from the lens to
accomplish this effect properly. But in getting away from
the lens it is necessary to have the light shaded completely
from your lens so that when the wipe-off card closes the
aperture, there is complete darkness. If you attempted
this without a sun-shade or matte box you would possibly
get a reflection from the card and of course light would be
surrounding your lens.

Another vital thing is steadiness of movement. By
referring to Figure 1 in the accompanying illustrations you
will note that the wipe-offs marked A are controlled by a
lever. This lever permits a steady, smooth, slow movement
that cannot be accomplished by a direct hand action with
the card itself.

Let’s take the single wipe-off. Figure 4 shows a pro-
fessional matte box as furnished by the Mitchell Camera
Company and as it is mounted on one of their cameras, this
matte box, of course, is not available to the amateur . . .
furthermore it would prove too expensive for him. We
present it to give you an idea of a professional matte box.
However, in last month’s issue, if you will refer to it, you
will find in the photo of William Palmer and Ernest Page,
the first prize winners of the contest, that their camera
which stands between them contains a sun shade. Accord-

Continued on Page 32

AMATEUR SECTION

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

In the lower photo Mr. Childs is photo-
graphing a close-up of the hand with the
cigarette. Upper photo demonstrates the
value of the back-lighting in the finished
product.

Lighting

For Ho me Movies

S. W. Childs, ]r.,

Third Prize Winner
A.S.C. 1932 Competition

N the early days of home movies, before the advent of
fast lenses, panchromatic film, and efficient incandescent
light units, about the only practical method open to the
amateur for indoor sequences in his productions was an out-
door set. Bristol board sets on the tennis court, or open
porches furnished to resemble a living room, pantry, or
whatever it might be, were essential if one was to get suf-
ficient light. I well remember the “Silver Dollar Saloon”
set which I built on our tennis court for one of my first
productions, and the constant danger of showing the top
of the set with tennis netting and trees in the background!

Fortunately, all is changed. I feel that the super-sensi-
tive panchromatic film is the greatest boon to amateur movie

makers since the introduction of 16 mm. cameras and
projectors. Anyone can now take excellent indoor shots
with very inexpensive equipment. However, lighting for
home movies in general presents so many ramifications, that
in this article I intend to confine myself entirely to the
subject of lighting for closeups. Indoor closeups have an
especial appeal to those of us confined to city apartments
in the winter, when outdoor light is none of the best, and
they should appeal to all amateurs, as closeups are coming
to be regarded as more and more essential in any film.
One can suggest, or create atmosphere, and lend continuity
that is wanting when small details are overlooked.

My equipment consists of a camera, an F.1:5 lens and
one Solite with a 500 watt bulb. One does not actually
need a light of this wattage, but it is helpful in many ways,
and you do know at least that you will have plenty of light
for even the darkest corners. Furthermore, when using a
light of this strength in taking closeups and placing it very
close to your subject, you can stop down your lens aperture
several points. This of course gives you greater depth of
focus, and helps to overcome any errors of judgment of your
distance. Very often I have been taking a scene only 1 8
inches away from the subject, and it was a comfort to know
that I could stop down the lens to ensure the scene being
in focus, whether I was 60 inches or 20 inches from the
action.

Effective lighting is largely a matter of trial and error
and individual ingenuity. I could not hope to give a list
of suggested stops for the lens, or anything like that. The
most that I can do is to suggest a few types of closeups and
the manner in which I lighted them. Everyone has his own
ideas on the subject.

One of the most effective shots is one that is back-
lighted, and taken from an unusual angle at the same time.
Angle shots should be used in conjunction with your light-
ing arrangements to get the most out of a scene. As can
be seen from the illustration, the light cast by the Solite

comes down from above and
a hand holding a smoking c
fingers, the underside of
the hand being relieved by
the reflection from the
newspaper on the floor,
and the smoke takes on
added beauty, drifting up-
ward against the light.
Speaking of smoke, let me
suggest that whenever you
are dealing with something
which is translucent, al-
ways backlight it if pos-
sible. Even so simple an
operation as a hand chop-
ping up ice in a tray with
an ice-pick, is lovely and
fascinating with the light
coming through the ice and
the shadows moving as the
pick comes down. Water,
of course, is most effective
when light filters through
it, be it in the bath tub,
sink, or finger-bowl upon
the table.

back of the subject, in this case
igarette. It filters through the

Backlighting brings
out the glass as
explained by Mr.
Childs in this article.

It is a bit difficult to
get many intriguing angles
when photographing a foot
or hand testing the tem-
Continued on Page 34

American Cinematographer • February 1933

AMATEUR SECTION

Mr. Harvey and his
home-made camera.

I Made My
Own 16 mm. Camera

Raymond Harvey,

Amateur

HAVE always wanted a movie camera that was a step
ahead of what the other fellow used. Unfortunately,
however, I’ve never been in a position to spend the many
hundred dollars that the purchase of a commercial profes-
sional-type 16 mm. camera would necessitate. Perhaps I
should have been satisfied, for I liked my Victor camera —
I still like it, in fact; and I can get perfectly satisfactory pic-
tures with it; but I wanted all kinds of professional refine-
ments that have never been incorporated in even the best
of commercially made “amateur movie cameras.” So I
decided to make my own camera — and to make it the
camera of my dreams.

I wanted fades and lap-dissolves, of course — therefore it
must be hand-cranked, and capable of running either back-
wards or forwards. It must have a dissolver, or fade-out
device. I wanted to do trick and stop-motion work, so of
course there must be a one-picture-per-turn movement as
well as the usual eight-picture-per-turn. I had learned
that professional cinematographers get better quality by

controlling the exposure with an adjustable shutter more
frequently than by varying the lens-stop; therefore my
camera must have an adjustable shutter. I knew from ex-
perience that even the most accurately-calibrated focusing
scales and finders cannot be 100 percent accurate under all
conditions — so I knew that my camera must have means
for focusing the whole frame on a ground-glass screen.
Exposure is always the bugbear of the amateur, so why not
build an exposure-meter right into the camera?

With these ideas in mind, I started to build my camera.
One of my friends had a home machine-shop, and allowed
me to use it; luckily I had worked in it before, and under-
stood something of precision machine-work. Some of the
parts I could assemble from stock parts of other cameras,
and some I had to build myself or have made for me by
those who were better equipped. But my camera grew —
slowly, since I had only my spare time to devote to the
project — but steadily and satisfactorily. Naturally, as the
design took concrete shape, I added a number of detailed
conveniences, improvements and “gadgets,” as they sug-
gested themselves to me. Now the outfit is complete, and
has been in use for some time. To my mind, it is very
nearly perfect; and it has given me not merely the pleasure
of owning a camera that will do all I ask of it, and that
will take excellent pictures, but the joy of actually creating
the design and building the equipment. I am sure that
neither Dr. Victor nor Mr. Howell have derived greater
enjoyment or more lasting thrills from their work in evolving
the designs that bear their names than I have in my modest
attempts at making my ideal camera.

As it stands today, the “Harvey Model I” is a box-form
camera, finished in black crack-a-lac with chromium-plated
trimmings. It is a bit reminiscent, in appearance, of the old
“Universal” 35 mm. news camera, though vastly smaller and
lighter. It is equipped with a three lens turret with a special
locking device. Below the turret is a built-in compartment
for the trick-crank and the mattes and other small acces-
sories. At the top of the case is, of course, the carrying
handle, and a large direct viewfinder. On the left-hand
side is the magnifying eyepiece of the focusing system; an
engraved chart which gives the exposure-time (in fractions
of a second) for the different shutter-openings; the con-
trol-knob which automatically locks the movement so that
I cannot move the film or turn the crank while focusing;
and, on the door, a holder for small cards upon which one
can keep notes of the scenes taken. Inside the door are two
metal pockets, each of which will hold a 100 ft. roll of
film. At the rear is the lever which controls the focusing
mechanism; the dissolve-control; a Veeder footage counter,
and a Starret spirit-level. On the right-hand side are the
crank-shafts; a frames-per-foot counter; and the two dials
of the built-in photoelectric exposure-meter, with their con-
trolling switches.

The movement is of the claw type, partly home-made
and partly assembled from standard parts. Spindles are pro-
vided for the standard 100 ft. daylight-loading rolls of film,
and the camera will take up either backward or forward.
The focusing mechanism is arranged so that moving a lever
at the rear of the case slides the whole movement sideways
away from the aperture, and brings into place a ground-glass
screen and a prism which reflects the image at right angles
into the magnifying eyepiece. Behind the aperture, when
in focusing position, is a photoelectric cell which is con-
nected to the indicating dial on the right-hand side of the
camera. The power-supply for this comes from some small
flashlight batteries; in order to get a constant reading, un-
influenced by the waning or waxing strength of the bat-

AMATEUR SECTION

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

ABOVE — Right-hand side of Harvey camera, show-
ing turret, dials of built-in photoelectric exposure-
meter, frame-counter and crank.

BELOW — Left-hand side of camera, opened to
show movement, photo-cell of exposure-meter,
focusing-magnifier, and film-pockets in door.

teries, I have provided a resistance so wired that the circuit
can be adjusted to a standard voltage, at which all readings
are taken. Once this has been set, all that is necessary

is to press the button which completes the photocell circuit,
and then adjust your lens-opening so that the needle on
the exposure-meter dial reaches a predetermined mark. Un-
fortunately, my pocketbook has not as yet been equal to
the procurement of a specially marked dial for this, but
even so, it is simple enough to remember that a reading of,
say 50 miliamperes, means perfect exposure.

The shutter on this camera is adjustable to any opening
between 5 and 170 degrees; to make this adjustment, the
front door of the camera is opened, and the shutter adjusted
by hand. The dissolve is, of course, automatic, and, as yet,
rather crude — though effective. It is simply a metal disc
with one segment cut out, and the remainder pierced by
radial slots whose size and spacing grade progressively to
the completely faded out position in which a solid segment
is in front of the aperture. The fades produced by this
mechanism are not, I will admit, as perfectly smooth and
uniform as those made in professional cameras equipped with
dissolving shutters, but they are satisfactory — and the
design and construction of the fade-out mechanism are far
simpler.

Viewed in comparison with the fine design and construc-
tion of professional 35 mm. cameras, my camera is perhaps
very crude; yet I am proud of it, for it is the concrete ex-
pression of my own ideas in camera design and construction
— a home-movie camera that is truly custom tailored to suit
my needs. When I started to make it, the task seemed
almost too great and too exacting for either my ability or
the equipment I had at hand. But as the project progressed,

I found that these very limitations made it doubly fascinat-
ing. And although the camera itself is completed and
working, I am still making detail improvements on it, as
the need arises, and finding great pleasure in working out
similar improvements on my Victor camera, not to mention
several other ideas which may or may not pan out. One of
these is a full-frame focuser which I have incorporated into
my Victor camera. The ordinary magnifying focuser with
which these and certain other 16 mm. cameras are fitted is
good, but it has always seemed to me to be only half the
loaf, so to speak, for there are always times when one wants
to focus not merely a tiny area in the center of his picture,
but the entire picture itself. After building my own camera,
with its provision for full-aperture focusing, I decided to
try to incorporate the same feature on my Victor. Most
of the engineers with whom I talked and corresponded as-
sured me that it couldn’t be done. I wasn’t so sure!
Eventually, I struck what seemed to be a workable idea —
on paper, at least, and back I went to the shop, hoping that
it would work equally well in practice. It did. It consists
of a square tube, chromium plated, and wedge-shaped at
the end, which, through a lever on the outside, slides up
into the aperture, automatically displacing the regular move-
ment of the camera, which I have altered to fold back, out
of the way, and to snap into place afterward, without losing
the loops. The image is focused on a ground glass, and
viewed through prisms and magnifiers much as in the regu-
lar focuser. Designing and constructing these things has
given me a world of pleasure. So, whenever one of my
fellow-amateurs asks me if the design and construction of
a movie camera is too great a task for an individual, my
reply is always an emphatic “NO!” It is often hard work,
exacting, and bristling with perplexing problems and things
that you’d like to do — and can’t — but that is what makes
it supremely enjoyable. If you doubt this — try it yourself!

American Cinematographer • February 1933

AMATEUR SECTION

Automatic control unit opened to
show constructional details.

M OTION picture photography for educational and re-
search purposes in medicine, biology, chemistry
and all the natural sciences can be greatly aided by
the use of a reliable and flexible stop motion device.

The combination of these two factors, reliability and
flexibility, into a compact and easily manipulated unit that
can be used with 16 mm. or 35 mm. cameras of any make,
will greatly aid the usefulness of the motion picture, par-
ticularly in the research field. Such an instrument, to have
a universal application to all makes of spring driven cameras,
must combine as many automatic operations as possible with-
out alteration to the camera used. It must be applicable
to cinemicrography and yet be equally efficient for straight
cinematography. In other words it must be extremely flex-
ible in the matter of control and application.

With the many uses to which such an instrument can be
applied and with the above criteria in mind, the writers have
attempted to design such an instrument.

The construction of a mechanism which will operate a
spring driven camera to take single frames, presented sev-
eral problems. The camera to be used must be a standard
make 16 mm. or 35 mm. spring driven machine and need
not be equipped to take other than continuous pictures at
either normal or one half normal speed. It is extremely
difficult to depress the starting lever by hand and release
it quickly enough to insure that only one frame has been
exposed, even at half speed. This then was the first prob-
lem — to construct a mechanism that would AUTO-
MATICALLY operate to expose a single frame only when
desired.

The second problem was the control of the interval
between frames. Due to the wide variety of subjects for
this work and the differences in their growth speeds, as well
as the desired development speed when the film is projected,
a very flexible timing unit is necessary. It was thought
from the start that this timing unit should be capable of
stepless variations from the slowest to the fastest interval.
This requirement ruled out motors, synchronous clocks, etc.,
which would depend upon gears, shifts or changes of
sprocket teeth, etc. to control the interval.

A New Stop

The third problem was the control of light. Since most
of this kind of work extends over a period of several days,
or at least over a period longer than would provide depend-
able natural lighting, artificial light must be used. In the
case of cinemicrography, the heat developed by the light,
if it is permitted to play upon the slide continuously, unless
adequately cooled will tend to dry a living preparation.
Then too, many microscopic subjects are phototropic and
will not permit continuous application of strong light. Still
another angle which was of interest to the writers, was the
unnecessary cost of operating lights of high wattage con-
tinuously when the actual time that the camera shutter is
open is only a fraction of the total elapsed time. It was
thought very desirable to incorporate intermittent light con-
trol.

The last requirement was that of extreme flexibility in
operation. It should be possible to modify or completely
change the operation of the device between fast and slow
automatic operation, manual operation and continuous film-
ing in order to follow the vagaries of the subject being
filmed. Means must also be provided to turn on the lights
continuously for observation when necessary.

As finally worked out the system consists of four units,
or rather one main timing unit and three auxiliaries. The
complete set up is shown in the photographs.

The main unit is the timer and relay control box. Con-
nected with this is the camera trip device, the light circuits
and the remote control panel. Power supply in the machine
shown is from the light socket and from a storage battery
and a radio trickle charger for the battery's maintenance.
Since these photographs were taken the apparatus has been
modified to operate entirely from the light socket.

The cycle of operations is controlled by a timer con-
structed from the mechanism of a kilo-watt hour meter.
The meter was disassembled and a few turns of wire pulled
in on top of the potential coil. This coil was then con-
nected to the current coil through a radio rheostat. This
procedure makes the meter self exciting and variation of
the rheostat vary the speed at which the mechanism runs.
A five point sprocket was soldered to the second shaft of
the meter and is permitted to close contact with a stationary
contact spring. When the mechanism is properly adjusted
it will make and break the circuit once in each time interval.
This time interval is continuously variable from 7 seconds
to two and one half minutes.

Consideration of the operating conditions showed that the
mechanism controlled by this circuit timer should be so
designed that its cycle of operation would be independent
of the interval between operations. Tests showed that the
mechanism must first: turn on the lighting system and per-
mit it to come up to full brilliancy. This is particularly
true in the case of slow heating high wattage lamps; sec-
ond: depress the camera release lever; third: release this
lever quickly enough to prevent more than one frame from
being exposed; fourth: reset the mechanism in readiness for
the next time interval.

These various functions are controlled by a combination
of one quick acting and two slow acting relays which pro-
vide the necessary lag between the various phases of the
operating cycle. This principle has proven quite simple and
very reliable.

AMATEUR SECTION

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

Motion Device
For C inematography

Alan C. Woolley and
George V. Morris,

Amateurs

The camera trip mechanism consists of a metal bed plate
arranged to be fastened between the camera and the tripod
or mounting board. Pins covered with rubber tubing to pro-
tect the camera, serve to locate the camera accurately on
this plate. A side bracket carrying an electromagnet pro-
vided with an armature so designed that the attraction of
the electromagnet will release the hand lever. The normal
spring of the camera hand release mechanism is enough to
return this armature, provided it is not allowed to go down
far enough to lock. The plate holding these electromagnets
does not require alterations to the camera for mounting and
must be necessarily designed to fit each make of camera.

The remote control panel is located at the end of a multi-
wire cable and contains the control apparatus required to
set the device in operation. With this system of control
it is possible to locate the timing unit out of the way and
the remote control panel will not take up room.

A four position switch is provided on this panel to choose

between automatically timed single frames, manually tripped
single frames, 3 frames per second or continuous filming.
An auxiliary switch is provided to turn either of these
functions off or on after it is chosen. A third switch is
provided to independently control the lighting system, in
order that the subject may be lighted continuously for
inspection and adjustment without affecting the camera
operation at its regular interval.

The instrument as now calibrated will give the following
camera speeds:

3 frames per second.

8 frames per second (Half normal).

1 6 frames per second (Normal speed).

1 frame every 7 seconds.

1 frame every 1 5 seconds.

1 frame every 30 seconds.

1 frame every 45 seconds.

1 frame every 1 minute.

1 minute 1 5 seconds.

1 minute 30 seconds.

1 minute 45 seconds.

2 minutes.

2 minutes 1 5 seconds.

2 minutes 30 seconds.

1 frame every
1 frame every
1 frame every
1 frame every
1 frame every
1 frame every

Any desired interval between those calibrated can be
obtained by setting the pointer between calibrations, or by
manual operation.

This extreme flexibility, instantly changeable, is an ad-
vantage in filming certain slow growth changes wherein the
rate of growth varies, or there are rest periods followed by
rapid cell division or growth rates.

Stop motion photography with its uncountable uses is of
inestimable value in bacteriological, biological, botanical,
entomological and chemical research. Its possibilities in the
educational and industrial fields are legion. Those cinema-
tographers and research men attempting this work will be
repaid a thousand fold in knowledge that cannot be obtained
or presented by other means.

Complete time-lapse cine-
mlcrographic equipment.

Left; lliuminant with liquid
cooled objective.

Center; Binocular Microscope
and Eastman Cine Kodak.

Right; Delayed-action relay
which automatically regu-
lates camera lights and
exposure intervals.

American Cinematographer • February 1933

AMATEUR SECTION

S O MANY inquiries regarding tech-
nical and other phases of motion
picture making are addressed to
this magazine and to the officers and
members of the American Society of
Cinematographers that we have decided
to publish a few of the questions and
their answers for the benefit of our read-
ers. We invite our readers to make use
of our pages as a medium for consulting
the outstanding technicians of Hollywood
on any cinematic problem.

NIGHT EFFECTS. “I under-
stand that night-effect scenes can
be made in daylight through the use
of certain filters. How is this
done?” — R.C.H., New York, N. Y.

Most professional cinematographers
are constantly experimenting along this
line, with special filters made to their
own formulae. However, among the
filters generally available, there are some
which will, under the proper conditions,
give passable night effects. The best of
these is the 72 or “Gamma” filter. Used
with SuperSensitive Panchromatic film,
this filter will give very acceptable night
effects. It must be noted that the night-
effect is dependent upon a combination
of over-correction and underexposure; the
filter supplies the correction, and the ex-
posure must be manipulated to suit the
conditions of the moment, and to give
the desired effect. As a general rule,
the best results will follow the use of
an aperture varying between f:3.5 and
f:4.5, although with reversal film a some-
what greater degree of underexposure is
sometimes desirable to offset the auto-
matic correction of the developing
machines. With regular Panchromatic
film, a somewhat similar effect can be
obtained by combining a 23-A filter and
a 56-B filter. If these filters are not
available, a heavy red filter (preferably
a 29-F) will serve as a makeshift sub-
stitute. The use of SuperSensitive film
and the 72 filter is by far preferable,
however.

The conditions giving the best results
for daytime night-effects are strong sun-
light with long, pictorial shadows, and a
bright blue sky mottled with white
clouds. If one has artificial light avail-

HERE'S

Members of the A.S.C.

able, the very best night effects can be
made on overcast, cloudy days with the
artificial lighting to illuminate the high-
lights and make the people stand out;
this, however, is rarely possible for the
amateur.

Undoubtedly the most convincing night
scenes are those made on negative film
and printed on blue-tinted stock, al-
though, of course, reversal film can be
tinted blue, too, if one has the equip-
ment to do minor laboratory work. When
using negative film, always be sure to
inform the laboratory that you are mak-
ing night-effects, lest they develop and
print them for day scenes. It is also well
in such instances to make a short test
strip on the end of the roll, so that the
laboratory can develop that first, and
ascertain the proper treatment for the
filtering and exposure you have used.

— Daniel B. Clark, A.S.C.

ADVERSE LIGHTINC CONDI-
TIONS. “I want to take movies in
an Ice Skating Rink, and they must
be taken at night, with only the
regular illumination of the rink.
The light is supplied by about fif-
teen 300 Watt bulbs in ordinary
reflectors, placed rather high. My
Filmo exposure-meter gives me a
reading of f:1. My Camera has a
205 degree shutter, giving an ex-
posure of 1 /28 second, and an
f:1.8 lens. I get perfect results at
half-speed (8 frames per second),
which makes an exposure of 1/14
second, I suppose; but this speeds
up the action too much. The film,
in any case, is of course Super-
Sensitive. What can I do to get
more satisfactory pictures under
these conditions; are there 16 mm.
cameras with larger shutter-open-
ings, lenses of greater speed, or
faster film available”?

— H.G.J., Brooklyn.

It is not the policy of this magazine to
specifically recommend any competitive
products. However, one well-known
camera has a shutter-opening of 216 de-
grees, giving an exposure of approxi-
mately 1 /24 second. This alone is not
sufficient to solve your problem: but an
f : 1 .3 lens, which is twice as fast as your
present f : 1 . 8 objective, should do so,

. . HOW

especially if used in conjunction with
the 216 degree shutter. There are also
two super-fast lenses available which
would give you the desired increase in
exposure, without any change of the
camera or shutter, though at some sacri-
fice of perfect optical quality. The first
of these (now discontinued, I understand,
but undoubtedly still available through
many dealers in new and used equip-
ment) is the f:0.99 Dallmeyer. Still
faster is the new Astro Tachone, f:0.95,
which has just been placed on the market
in Germany. According to the German
press, this lens is unusually well cor-
rected for so fast an objective, and is
made in one, two, three and four-inch
foci.

— William Stull, A.S.C.

CINEMATIC ARTISTRY. “I
notice you speak about “Cine-
matic Artistry”: will you please de-
fine it for me”?

— H.M.A., Cape Cottage, Maine.

Cinematic Artistry is a term descriptive
of that type of artistry which is peculiar
to the cinematographic medium. It
signifies an artistic combination of
photography, composition, lighting,
chiaroscuro, etc., with the artistic uses
of motion — both of the subjects and the
camera itself — which is peculiarly the
prerogative of the cinema.

— John Seitz, A.S.C.

SPLICING POSITIVE TO RE-
VERSAL. “I frequently have great
difficulty when I try to splice posi-
tive prints to reversal film: does the
fault lie with the film, or my splic-
ing technique”?

— H.C.. Chicago, III.

Many amateurs make the mistake of
being in too great a hurry when making
splices. Under any circumstances, a sec-
ond or two more drying-time will im-
prove any splice, but it is vital for splic-
ing positive and reversal films. The im-
portant things to consider when making
such splices is to use a splicer that gives
the largest area of contact between the
two films, a really good cement — and
plenty of time for the cement to dry.

— John Arnold, A.S.C.

AMATEUR SECTION

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

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American Cinematographer • February 1933

AMATEUR SECTION

Distinctive

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For the Cine Amateur

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Kodacolor Experiences
and Experiments

Continued from Page 21

will give him the field of action for any
focus-setting — the area in which every-
thing will be sharp at that given focus-
setting. In Kodacolor, you are work-
ing at f:1.9— — an opening at which
the depth of focus is necessarily the
least. I have read that Kodacolor
pictures should have sharply-focused
backgrounds for the best results — and
I have proved it time and again in prac-
tical work. The use of a depth-of-
focus table will make this easy. If,
for instance, I set my focus at 1 5 ft.,
the field of action would be from 1 1 ft.
to 22 ft. Therefore, in this case I
would have to have a garden wall or
something of the sort in the back-
ground so that the scene would not
extend beyond my 22 ft. range of focus;

I would not include anything important
nearer the camera than 1 1 ft. Every-
thing in the picture would therefore be
in focus. To make sure of these dis-
tances, I use a depth of focus table and
a tape-measure. When it is not prac-
tical to use a tape, I use a distance-
meter; but I prefer the tape.

Visualization Necessary

Visualization is an important factor
in getting good Kodacolor scenes. Study
how Kodacolor renders a given scene
under different conditions, so that you
can in time visualize beforehand just
what any subject will photograph like
under any condition — and so that you
can, if necessary, make the conditions
that will give you the picture that you
want. For instance: in taking a storm
on the coast I have to have a clear
day when a heavy surf is breaking over
the shore; but if I use the full light
that is available, I will have only a
pretty surf picture — but nothing to sug-
gest a storm. So the thing to do is to
cut down the light with a Neutral Den-
sity filter: this will darken the scene
for the storm effect, and still give a
photographically good color picture.

Capturing Sunsets

Sunsets are, of course, eternally in-
teresting subjects for color pictures. My
first experiments with sunsets were made
before I was at all sure whether or not
I could capture them with Kodacolor.

I stood on top of a hill and waited for
the sun to slip out of sight. I kept
watch of the sun, and found that I was
able to look directly at it for a short
time before it set; this set me to think-
ing: if I could look directly at the sun
then, why shouldn’t I be able to make
a picture of it! I tried it — and when
the roll came back from the processing
plant, I had my first sunset picture.

One winter we had an ice storm here.
Trees, foliage, buildings, fences — every-
thing was covered with a gleaming coat

of ice. Even the most prosaic objects
were as beautiful as an imaginative art-
ist’s conception of fairyland. I saw the
ice on the trees giving off prismatic
color as the branches swayed in the
wind. Could I photograph it? I went
out and tried, pointing my lens as closely
into the sun as I dared. I lost about
ten feet out of the fifty-foot roll through
shooting too closely into the sun, but
the rest of the pictures were beautiful.
The experiment was well worth-while,
for as the icicles swayed in the wind
they gave off prismatic flashes of red
which seemed at times to come from
many different parts of the picture area
on the screen.

Atmospheric Difference

The difference in the atmosphere on
the seacoast and inland is quite interest-
ing. I have taken pictures several hun-
dred miles inland: but the atmosphere
seemed hazy after working in the clear
sea air, and the pictures were not nearly
so pleasing. Here, the atmosphere is
almost always clear — especially on days
when there are cumulus clouds in the
sky. These days I call “Kodacolor
Days’’ because they combine the best
atmospheric conditions with beautiful
clouds to work into my compositions.

The introduction of Super-Sensitive
Kodacolor film has been a great benefit
to all of us. When I was using the
original Kodacolor film I used a No. 1
Neutral Density filter on the scenes I
made at the beaches, but no filter on
the other scenes. Now with Super-Sen-
sitive Kodacolor I use the No. 1 N.D.
on all scenes where I had previously
used none, and the No. 2 Neutral Den-
sity filter where I had previously used
the No. 1 .

It is my opinion that pictures — espe-
cially Kodacolor pictures — should be
clear, concise and pleasing to the eye,
with nothing to prevent the mind’s
grasping the subject or thought under
consideration. It has been said that
poetry is thinking in pictures: now that
we can think in Kodacolor pictures we
have the opportunity to turn our imag-
ination into channels never before
traversed.

Music Problems

Continued from Page 1 1
different points of the proscenium. This
thought may be very impracticable, but
I should like very much to see some-
thing done in this connection, as I feel
sure that the proper musical accompani-
ment of pictures would greatly assist in
improving the reaction of the audience.
I believe that you will all agree with me
that up to the present a really effective
background musical score has not been
accomplished.

Also, when a dramatic scene is on the
screen and silence prevails for a few
minutes, the issuance of music from the
same source whence comes the dialog
seems unnatural. The producers always

AMATEUR SECTION

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

Pri ze Pictures Pull Record Crowd

Largest meeting of Chicago Cine Club is held
when Prize Pictures are shown at gathering

try to create an apologia for the music,
and either place a radio or a phonograph
in the scene. The audiences are becom-
ing aware of this clumsy form of excuse,
and are making many humorous com-
ments about it.

I mentioned before my sentiments re-
garding the size of our stages. In the
case of close-up recordings of solo instru-
ments, they do not apply; but when an
orchestra of symphonic proportions is em-
ployed we have found it well-nigh im-
possible to allow the men to play in full
tone fortissimo, as they would in a con-
cert hall. On the radio we hear reproduc-
tions of symphony orchestras with a great
deal of satisfaction as regards results.
Why can we not achieve as good results
on our screen? The only remedy that I
can think of is to utilize recording space
so that it permits placing the microphones
at a distance that would allow a natural
performance and yet provide good
acoustical results when reproduced. The
new developments recently made in ex-
tending the range of reproduced fre-
quencies could then be fully appreciated.

Duping Elementary

A word for duping. This is one of the
phases of our business that I think is still
in its most elementary state. An evil
in itself and unavoidable from a practical
and economic point of view — but the
relation between the dynamics of music
back of dialog plus effects is a matter of
showmanship in its most elementary

# One of the largest attended meetings

that the Chicago Cinema Club has had

♦

phase. The dupers and mixers are en-
deavoring to be showmen in this sense,
and in many instances they are. The mere
audibility of any sound, either music or
effect, is not enough. That the im-
portance of the sound lies in the frame
of the drama or the comedy is the factor
to bear in mind. A moment of drama
must be recognized as such, and soft and
subtle treatment is necessary.

Now I do not believe that all these
shortcomings are due to inadequate
equipment. I attribute a great deal of
it to faulty and inadequate acoustics.
From the standpoint of dialog, the mo-
tion picture is well exhibited; but from
the standpoint of sound, I am sorry to
reiterate that most of the comments of
those who pay attention to this part of
the entertainment are always most dis-
appointing.

In conclusion, I wish to state that
complete cooperation and very close as-
sociation must exist between the music
department and the recording depart-
ment.

in some time was held at the Bell Or
Howell Auditorium on January 26 to
view the prize winning pictures of the
1932 American Cinematographer Ama-
teur motion picture competition.

While the Chicago club’s meetings
usually attract from 75 to 100 members
this gathering brought out 175 who en-
thusiastically praised the entire program
given them by Bell & Howell.

In addition to showing the prize pro-
duction, Bell & Howell also explained
and demonstrated some of their latest de-
velopments. J. C. Llewellyn explained
Filosound, touching on its applications in
various fields.

R. F. Mitchell told the assemblage
something about the Varo lens and what
it does. In his talk he also projected
some Varo lens shots to demonstrate his
explanation.

According to the report of Mr. C. S.
Bowstead, president of the Chicago Cine-
ma Club, this meeting was one of the
most interesting the club has had in
a long time. He especially emphasized
the members’ great interest in the prize
productions and the hearty manner in
which these pictures were received.

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American Cinematographer • February 1933

48 PACE
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rapher is practically on top of his sub-
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It is not necessary to remove lenses
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Wipe-Offs . . .

How to Make Them

Continued from Page 22

ing to Palmer this was made hurriedly
during the shooting of ‘‘Tarzan Jr.” to
enable them to make the wipe-offs which
their picture contained. It was con-
structed from a section of an old phono-
graph horn, a three inch filter holder and
a ring stand clamp from a chemical
laboratory. The purpose of the set up
was to hold the sliding mask at a respect-
able distance from the lens. This also
acted as a sun shade and according to
Palmer they had no need to worry about
lens flare even with extreme back or
rim lighting. The cost of them, of
course, was nil, since all the component
parts came from the junk heap. For a
starter many amateurs might want to
make their own matte box so that they
might experiment before going into a
heavy investment. Palmer’s idea gives
you a practical suggestion.

Wiping Scene On

Assuming you have constructed the
leverage principle as shown in Figure 1,
but using the card on the left only for
a single wipe-off which is the most popu-
lar you are ready for a number of inter-
esting experiments. The slow movement
of the lever drawing card A at the left
over B which represents the aperture you
have wiped the scene off the screen. To
wipe the following scene on, you turn the
entire apparatus upside down and of
course the picture will start coming on
from the left. Very simple.

We gave you the two cards on this
Figure 1 sketch to show you what we
commonly term ‘‘barn doors.” This is a
sort of wipe-off from both sides, giving
you the impression of closing doors. How-
ever, to work this accurately it is neces-
sary that the distance from where the
main lever is fastened onto the matte box
to the point where it is attached to tab
on card A, be the same as from the point
on the matte box to the other lever.
This will compel both cards to travel at
the same speed.

Use of Designs

You can give this door shutting stunt
variations by cutting designs in the cards
as represented in Figure 2. There a
simple design has been shown, but they
can be as wide and varied as your
imagination, consistent with good design.

Some may want to go a few steps
further with this wipe-off principle and
attempt to make one scene chase the
other off the screen as is so often seen
in professional pictures. This is rather
difficult. It calls for a great deal of
accuracy and it calls for rewinding of
the film. You will have to keep accurate
count from the time the wipe-off starts
until it finishes. You will then have to
wind back to the start, reverse your

wipe-off as explained previously for wip-
ing-on. As you wipe-on you will have
to keep to the same pace at which you
wiped off or the scene following will be
separated from the scene going off by a
black line of varied widths or it will over-
lap the scene being chased off the picture.
Possibly the safest experiment would be
to try it with titles.

We assume you have wiped the scene
off preceding the title. You now wind
it back to the starting point of the wipe-
off and then proceed to wipe on your
title. There is less danger with over-
lapping and slowness with titles than
there is with scenes. Your wipe-off gives
an impression of black on the screen.
Your title back-ground is black, if it lags
it will not be noticed, as both the wipe-
off and the title background are black and
of course there will be no evidence of
lagging. The following scene can also be
wiped on in the same manner; however,
you may want to use a quick wipe-off as
you undoubtedly will jump right into
some important action, as is usually the
case following a title.

Making an Iris

While Figure 3 does not represent a
wipe-off, it is a simple little thing you
can do that will give you pleasing results
if you have the holder for the matte box.
It is an iris. This is built of a black card
— it must be dull black. You make a
hole in this card at the exact height of
the lens, the same size as the lens open-
ing, so that when it is pushed up tightly
against the lens it is large enough so
it does not interfere with the lens hous-
ing or cut the picture down. To iris out,
you slowly push it away from the cam-
era as you are taking the picture. The
farther the hole gets from the lens, of
course the smaller your photographic
field becomes until it almost disappears;
when it reaches that point merely thrust
your hand over the front of the lens and
your iris out is complete. Start the next
scene for an iris-in with your hand over
the lens and then slowly bring the board
toward the lens until it fits up to it
tightly when you again are permitting
the camera lens to take in its entire
field.

Trying for Accuracy

In working both the wipe-off and iris
where you want to get as close to ac-
curacy as possible you might use what
we term the count system. You count
slowly at an even pace from the time
you start the action until you finish it.
You start the wipe-off or the iris count-
ing 1 -2-3-4, etc., slowly until you have
completed. Then when you wipe-in and
iris-in again you count at the same pace,
finishing with the number on which the
previous action was completed.

While you are not restricted to wiping-
off from the left, but can do it from any
angle as you frequently see in the pro-
fessional picture, still it is the safest and
most satisfactory to the viewer until you
can use the principle of wiping it off

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

with another scene. In view of the fact
that the amateur camera does not permit
of winding the film back and that it is
not equipped with an exposure counter
and the many other instruments the pro-
fessional camera has, it might be much
better not to try the angle chase-offs.

Winding Film Back

If some wish to go to the expense of
having their camera altered to wind back-
wards, we understand it is possible to
have this done to some of the present day
amateur cameras. Then, of course, the
double exposure is made more simple.

The one case where the wipe-off from
the top may be justified is when the
title wipes the scene off. This will prove
more interesting to the viewer if done
slowly, as it brings the lines of the title
on the screen in their natural sequence.
By letting the following scene chase the
title off, it also eliminates the lines of
the title in their natural order.

If you have a matte box — or have the
ingenuity and mechanical ability to build
one — try a few of these simple things
. . . they’ll give you a grand old kick.

Tessar f 2.7
/ 3 . 5 / 4.5
Biotar f 1.4

Write Carl Zeiss, Inc.,
485 Fifth Avenue, New York
728 So. Hill St., Los Angeles

CARL ZEISS

CINE LENSES

Consolidated Acquires Uni-
versal’s Royal Laboratory

• Consolidated Film Industries, Inc., has
closed a deal with Universal whereby

Consolidated acquires Universal’s Royal
Laboratory. This deal is stated to give
Universal a slash in laboratory rates, and
also take care of the repayment of the
$600,000 remaining outstanding from
the $1,000,000 loan made Universal by
Consolidated three years ago.

The Royal plant, according to Con-
solidated’s statement, is to be shut
down, although other reports deny this.

Contracts for Comedy
Cameramen

• Educational has handed term contracts
to three of the staff of cameramen

who have been photographing its short-
subject program. The three lucky men
are Dwight Warren, Ed Tanner and
Bernard Moore.

Milton Krasner Becomes
First Cinematographer

• Milton Krasner, long known as a sec-
ond cinematographer for Charles Rog-
ers Productions and at the Pathe Studio,
has just completed his first production
as a full-fledged first cinematographer.
The picture is “Strictly Personal,” for
Charles Rogers Productions. Congratu-
lations Milton! Keep it up!

"ARTREEVES"

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Gregg Toland to Wed

• Gregg Toland, first cinematographer
on Samuel Goldwyn’s productions,
“The Kid From Spain,” “The Mas-
querader,” etc., and Edna Callaghan, an
actress, filmed a notice of intention to
wed recently.

CINEMATOGRAPHIC ANNUAL

Volume 2

544 Pages of Valuable Information

American Cinematographer
6331 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Calif.

American Cinematographer • February 1933

30% to 60% Cash Savings

on 16 mm. and 35 mm. cameras, projectors
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over 22 years Value Leaders of the nation.
Your copy is ready. Write for it.

BASS CAMERA COMPANY

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can furnish all lengths of negative

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Astro vs.

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West Hollywood, California

Lighting for Home Movies

Continued from Page 23

perature of the bath, or water running
from a faucet over piled up dishes in the
sink. Quarters are generally fairly
cramped, and, with the tub or sink in a
fixed place, when you have moved in
your light and camera tripod, there are
not many positions from which to photo-
graph. It is different, however, when
filming someone pouring liquid into a
glass. There you can not only have your
light coming through both the glass and
liquid, but you can take it from such an
angle as to immediately stimulate the
curiosity and enjoyment of your audience.
One of the most effective scenes I ever
got, I think, was one where I photo-
graphed White Rock being poured into a
highball glass. Placing the glass on a
low table, with the light coming from
the side and back, but shielded from the
lens by the body of the person pouring,

I sat on the floor, so that the lens was
slightly below the level of the table. The
resultant foreshortening with the
sparkling, bubbling water filling the glass,
gave me a very interesting picture.

Shooting Thru Class

Here is a suggestion that may be help-
ful if you are filming someone shuffling
cards at a card party, a most unexciting
scene in itself. Get a fairly large piece
of glass. I used the circular top of a
glass topped table. Rest this piece of
glass on a couple of chairs, which will
hold it so that, when you lie on your
back on the floor, there will be at least
two feet between the lens and the glass.
Place your light as close as possible to
the one who is to shuffle, so that it will
shine through the cards. With the light
flickering through the deftly shuffled
cards, and filming directly below so that
you can see the different cards as they
fall into place, you will get a distinctly
intriguing picture.

Reflected Shots

The beauty of reflected shots should
not be overlooked, and if your lights are
properly placed, such a sequence will be
very lovely. You want to film a tea
party, possibly as part of a production.
It all centers around the old silver tea
kettle, standing proudly on the little
stand which holds the burner. Introduce
the party taking a closeup of it, standing
amidst the remaining paraphernalia, with
the light coming from the side. If filmed
from a point somewhat below the level
of the kettle, the distortion will vest it
with its proper importance, while the
reflection from the other silver pieces is
beautiful indeed.

Other culinary activities can be simi-
larly enhanced. If milady is serving a
cold buffet supper, making the salad in
an old wooden bowl, do not miss the
chance to put your light on one side of
the table while you stand on the other.
“II faut le fatigue,” and the light
reflected from the gleaming leaves as the

fork and spoon mix them with the dress-
ing is lovely. Here you not only get the
reflection from the oil on the leaves, but
the light also shines through them, as
the fork, spoon, or hands are partially
silhouetted against the light. This is
particularly so when you film from a level
with the salad bowl. The importance of
using only one strong incandescent for
this type of work is apparent when photo-
graphing the rite of lifting the cover
from the cheese dish at the buffet. As
the light comes only from one source,
elongated shadows of the cheeses are cast
on the dish, while the density of the
darker side is sufficiently relieved by the
natural reflection from the dish. Plates
do make wonderful reflectors. One of
the shots I like best in I’D BE DE-
LIGHTED TO is one of a hand picking
up a stalk of asparagus at dinner. I held
the camera on a level with the table,
while the light came from over the diner’s
shoulder, throwing the top of the hand
into strong relief. Yet the reflected light
from the plate gave me all sorts of
shadow contrasts, constantly changing as
more or less light came through the
fingers.

It is impossible to enumerate all the
possibilities for lighting in home movies,
and I have tried only to suggest a few
adaptations of that much used phrase
“back-lighting.” Avoid flat lighting as
much as possible in closeups, for it gives
you no contrast at all, and your own in-
genuity will do the rest.

♦

Enlargements From
16 MM. Film

Continued from Page 20

a very grainy appearance which is les-
sened with the increasing of the size of
the enlargement.

Comparisons are sometimes unjustly
made between the 16 mm. enlargement
from a duplicate negative made from a
positive 16 mm. film with that secured
from a small film original negative. It
must be born in mind that in making an
enlargement starting with a positive
print, no matter what its size might be,
is never as good as an enlargement from
an original negative.

Suggestions were made to attempt en-
largements by placing the 16 mm. film
between two pieces of photographic glass,
first placing glycerine on each side of
the film between the glass. Also the
suggestion that two pieces of photo-
graphic glass be separated by a small hose
on three sides and water placed in
between and the unexposed negative
placed under it. Both of these methods
would act as diffusers and this un-
doubtedly could be done more easily and
more quickly with a diffuser on the en-
larging lens. Diffusing, of course, would
mean the loss of some detail, and the
16 mm., having so little detail to begin

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

with, it would hardly seem logical to at-
tempt to eliminate more detail.

Best Methods

The entire experiment led to the con-
clusion that the best method for enlarg-
ing 16 mm. film was to make a negative
of about 4x5 dimension to make an
enlarged print from this of not less than
8x10. To make this print on a normal
stock such as Vitava Opal Z with a rough
finish, using Borax developer for the
negative and Nepera for the positive.

Contact prints proved unsatisfactory.
Glossy stock proved unsatisfactory to the
eye as its grain intensified the lack of
detail.

Do not expect to get something in
the enlargement that is not contained in
the original. If, however, you have a
shot in a 16 mm. film that you feel is
valuable to you from a sentimental stand-
point and you want a picture that you
would like to keep, something you would
like to frame for your use, then the re-
toucher’s art may help you. But this
experiment did not endeavor to take that
into consideration. It dealt only with
the physical means at your command to
secure satisfactory enlargements from
16 mm. film.

Wheels of Industry

Continued from Page 18

horizontal position for filming ordinary
titles. There is also provision for the
angle position for titles which show the
hand as it writes.

Jointed and swiveled lamp support
arms by their flexibility make possible
using glossy photographs and magazine
illustrations for title backgrounds, as
reflections are readily banished by proper
placing of lights. Lamp position flex-
ibility also makes possible interesting
shadow effects from third dimensional
letters, such as soup alphabets.

Porter Heads Pacific Coast
R.C. A. -Victor

• C. HAROLD Porter was recently ap-
pointed vice-president in charge of
R.C. A. -Victor Company’s Hollywood of-
fices. He was formerly in charge of the
Pacific Coast activities of the Radio
Corporation of America.

Frank B. Good, A.S.C.,
Recoved From Flu

• Frank B. Good, A.S.C., who was one
of the victims of the prevalent in-
fluenza epidemic, is recovered. It had
him confined to his home for several
weeks.

Model B Professional $300.00
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Here’s How

A new feature starting this month in which members of the
American Society of Cinematographers answers the ama-
teurs’ questions. Turn to Page 38. Ask your questions
. . . they’ll be answered by experts.

American Cinematographer • February 1933

Photograph by M. F. Weaver

Brulatour Host to Sound Men

The Brulatour party given to the Sound
Engineers of Hollywood at the U pi if t -
ers Club.

Uplifters Club scene of gathering of more than
150 Hollywood studio sound engineers.

• While the party given by E. O. Black-
burn of J. E. Brulatour, Inc., for the
sound engineers of the Hollywood studios
ushered out the month of January, in
some of its aspects it had the color of a
New Year’s eve celebration.

More than 150 sound engineers
gathered at the Uplifters Club at the
invitation of Blackburn on the evening of
January 31 for one of the parties for
which Blackburn is justly famous.

Nothing of a business nature entered
into the evening’s proceedings. From
7:30 until “when” the gathering was
furnished with entertainment that pre-
cluded everything of a business nature.

Possibly the memorable highlight was
the sound track which interrupted Black-

♦

“Miscasting” The Cine-
matographer

Continued from Page 13

individual, but the human equation can
never be safely ignored. This has been
repeatedly proven in the assignments of
directors, writers and players; it means
the difference between whole-hearted
cooperation and apathetic, mechanical
work.

It is a factor which has been recog-
nized in the case of directors and other
creative artists in production. It has
even been recognized in the case of cer-

burn’s address and eliminated all speech
making for the evening.

This is the first time in the history
of motion pictures that the Sound
Engineers have gathered for a social
event. The enthusiasm of the occasion
recorded it a tremendous success.

♦

tain specialized phases of cinematography.
A producer of outdoor or “Western”
films, for instance, will not select his
cinematographer at random, but will
definitely assure himself of the services
of one of a small group of specialists in
that type of cinematography. He would
no sooner think of assigning a Karl Struss
or a William Daniels to photograph such
a film than he would of assigning a
Mamoulian or a Lubitsch to direct it.
And this is not wholly predicated on the
economic factor of salaries by any means.
The men who specialize in photographing
outdoor pictures are masters of the dif-
ficult technique of making such pictures;
they know more than merely photog-
raphy: they know how to choose loca-
tions, how to stage stunt action safely
and effectively, how to get the maximum
production value out of the minimum of
physical equipment, and the thousand
and one other intricate details of this
work which the average cinematographer
cannot expect to have at his fingertips.
Most important of all, they whole-

heartedly enjoy their work; they have the
instinctive feeling for this type of pic-
ture.

Aside from this, in the general run of
production in a big studio, the cinema-
tographers are assigned largely on a basis
of availability. A man may finish one
production today — a production of a type
with which he feels completely at home.
Tomorrow, he may be assigned to a pro-
duction for which he can arouse neither
interest nor enthusiasm. Three days
later, another production of his type may
start — with a man (hitherto unavailable)
who would greatly prefer the other’s as-
signment. Similarly, a studio may have
some outstanding cinematographer under
contract, and available: to keep him
working, they assign him to a production
which does not require a man of his
specialized ability or technique. He feels
instinctively that he is virtually wasting
his time on an inconsequential trifle. Try
as he may, he can seldom escape from
“soldiering” — “marking time” — “walk-
ing through” the production. And the
results on the screen will show it.

Enthusiastic Work

To this writer’s mind, at least, a great
deal of good would be done to both the
producer and the industry as a whole if
the studios would realize, when such pro-
ductions are planned, that what might
seem inconsequential productions to men
whose work for years has been the photo-
graphing of the greatest specials, would
seem very important and desirable to less
prominent cinematographers, who — given
such an assignment — would bend every

Used in 96%
of the studios
of the world

MAX FACTOR MAKE-UP STUDIOS

HOLLYWOOD • • CALIFORNIA

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

effort to distinguish themselves. Such
a policy would, first of all, result in
better, fresher and more enthusiastic
work on the part of these younger cine-
matographers; it would, I am sure, bring
to light new talent, and improve the
general standard of cinematography;
and, secondarily, it would certainly aid
in the alleviation of the camera profes-
sion’s critical unemployment problem.

Noiseless Camera

Continued from Page 9

They are, in fact, sometimes troublesome
even with blimps. With the new motor,
however, the camera is so quiet that
half the time I would not — except
for the synchronization signals — know
whether or not the camera was turning.

“For the past thirty days, operations
at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio have
been standardized in using the 48-cycle
motors on every company, regardless of
the camera-equipment being used. Con-
trary to some reports, the use of these
motors does not involve any change in the
sound equipment, as the present motors
now in use with the recorders may be
used in interlock with the new 48-cycle
ones driving the cameras. These motors,
even with existing cameras, are a great
improvement — and with the new camera
they make a most welcome combination.”

Features Not Sacrificed

The executives of the Mitchell Camera
Company are very modest about their
new product. J. D. McCall, of the firm,
for instance, has told me, “We prefer to
let the camera speak for itself; while we
know that the camera is quiet, we do not
advance it as the 100 percent noiseless
camera which all of us hope to see some
day. We feel that it is, however, an
appreciable advance over existing ap-
paratus; it achieves a very satisfactory
degree of silence in operation, without
the sacrifice of any of the features of
convenience, precision or durability for
which the name Mitchell has always
stood. It is a camera designed expressly
for sound-film use, and for the conditions
confronting the industry today — condi-
tions which require faster, more reliable
operation than ever before. It is, we
hope, truly a camera for today — and to-
morrow.”

Dealer Holds Photographic
Classes For Amateurs

• For those amateurs who wish to se-
cure a good foundation in elementary
photography, Tappenbeck & Culver, deal-
ers at 10958 Weyburn Ave., Los Angeles,
have started classes in their store which
are conducted by Hatto Tappenbeck,
A.S.C., one of the members of the firm.

The entire course will consist of 12
lectures, each being held on Wednesday
evening. Amateurs are welcome up to
the capacity of the quarters.

AGFA RAW FILM CORPORATION

6368 Santa Monica Boulevard

HOLLYWOOD,
Factories: Binghamton,

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New York, U. S. A.

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for Professional and Amateur

New and used. Bought, sold, rented
and repaired. Camera Silencing.
Send for Bargain Catalogue

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1600 Cahuenga Blvd.*, Hollywood
Tel: CL 2507 - HO 9431
Cable Address: HOcamex

Open .8 a m. to 10 p. m.

2 for the

. . . PRICE OF ONE

Volume 1 of the Cinematographic Annual which sells for $5.00

One year’s subscription to the AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER $3.00

BOTH FOR $5.00

This is for new subscriptions as well as renewals.

The CINEMATOGRAPHIC ANNUAL
covers 39 vital subjects in motion pic-
ture making . . .

Composition in Motion Pictures
Light Filters and Their Use
The Art of Motion Picture Make-Up
Color Rendition

Motion Pictures in Natural Color
Cinematography Simplified
Cinemachinery for the Personal Movie
The Dusenbery System of Estimating
Exposure

Micro-Cinematographic Apparatus
What They Use in Hollywood
Useful Facts and Formulae

Sign the attached coupon. Pin a
$5.00 bill, check or money order to it
. . . and this combination is yours.

American Cinematographer,

6331 Hollywood Blvd.,

Hollywood, Calif.

Attached is $5.00 for Volume No. 1 of
the CINEMATOGRAPHIC ANNUAL and
one year’s subscription to THE AMERICAN
CINEMATOGRAPHER. Begin with the
issue of

193

Name

Street

Town

State.

American Cinematographer • February 1933

DIRECTORY of DEALERS

Handling the American Cinematographer

ARIZONA

Tucson: William M. Dennis, 22 United Bank
Bldg.

ARKANSAS

Judsonia: Lee’s Novelty House.

CALIFORNIA

Fresno: Potter Drug Co., 1112 Fulton Ave.
Glendale: Kug Art Photo Service, 205 So.
Brand Blvd.

Hollywood: Bell & Howell Co., 716 North La-
Brea Ave.

Hollywood Camera Exchange, Ltd., 1600 N.
Cahuenga Blvd.

Hollywood Citizen, 6366 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood Movie Supply Co., 6038 Sunset
Blvd.

J. V. Merchant, 6331 Hollywood Blvd.
Universal News Agency, 1655 Las Palmas.
Los Angeles: California Camera Hospital, 321
O. T. Johnson Bldg.

Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc., 643 So. Hil:
Street.

Educational Projecto Film Co., 317 N. Fair-
fax.

T. Iwata Art Store, 256 East First St.
Lehnkering Pharmacy, 1501 N. Western
Ave.

B. B. Nichols, 731 South Hope St.

Victor Animatograph Corp., 650 So. Grand
Ave.

Tappenbeck & Culver, 10958 Weyburn Ave.,
Westwood Village.

North Hollywood: Studio City Pharmacy, 12051
Ventura Blvd.

Pasadena: The Flag Studio, 59 East Colorado St.
Richard Fromme, 965 S. Fair Oaks.

A. C. Vroman, 329 East Colorado St.

San Diego: Harold E. Lutes, 958 Fifth St.

San Francisco: Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc.,
216 Post St.

Hirsch & Kaye, 239 Grant Ave.

San Francisco Camera Exchange, 88 Third
St.

Schwabacher-Frey Stationary Co., 735 Mar-
ket St.

Sherman, Clay & Co., Kearny & Sutter Sts.
Santa Barbara: J. Walter Collinge, 1127 State
St.

Stockton: The Holden Drug Co., Weber Ave.
& Sutter St.

Logan Studios, 20 N. San Joaquin St.

COLORADO

Denver: Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc., 626 Six-
teenth St.

CONNECTICUT

Bridgeport: Harvey & Lewis Co., 1148 Main
St.

Hartford: Watkins Bros., 241 Asylum St.

ILLINOIS

Chicago: Aimer, Coe & Co., 105 N. Wabash
Ave.

Associated Film Libraries, Inc., Suite 224,
190 N. State St.

Bass Camera Co., 179 West Madison St.
Central Camera Co., 230 S. Wabash Ave.
Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc., 133 N. Wabash
Ave.

Fair, The, Camera Dept., 7th Floor, State-
Adams-Dearborn Sts.

Springfield: Camera Shop, The, 320 S. Fifth St.

IOWA

Sioux City: Lynn’s Photo Finishing, Inc., 419
Pierce St.

KANSAS

Wichita: Jack Lewis Film Service, 329 Sedg-
wick Building.

LOUISIANA

Monroe: Griffin Studios. P. O. Box 681.

MARYLAND

Baltimore: Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc., 309 N.
Charles St.

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston: Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc., 38 Brom-
field St.

Iver Johnson Sporting Goods Co., 155 Wash-
ington St.

Pathescope Co. of the N. E. Inc., 438 Stuart
St.

Pinkham & Smith Co., 15 Bromfield St.
Braintree: Alves Photo Shop, 349 Washington
St.

Cambridge: E. M. F. Electrical Supply Co., 430
Massachusetts Ave.

Springfield: Harvey & Lewis Co., 1503 Main

st.

Worcester: Harvey & Lewis Co., 513 Main St.

MICHICAN

Detroit: Crowley, Milner & Co.

Detroit Camera Shop, 424 Grand River W.
Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc., 1235 Wash-
ington Blvd.

Grand Rapids: Camera Shop Stores, Inc., 56
Monroe Ave.

Photo Service Shop, 44 Monroe Ave.

MINNESOTA

LeRoy: Ivan E. Meyers, Home Movie Service,
215 W. Main St.

Minneapolis: Eastman Kodak Stores, 112-116
So. Fifth St.

National Camera Exchange, 5 South Fifth St.

MISSOURI

St. Louis: Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc., 1009

Olive St.

MONTANA

Bozeman: Alexander Art Co.

NEBRASKA

Omaha: J. G. Kretschmer & Co., 1617 Har-

ney St.

NEW JERSEY

East Orange: Edmund J. Farlie Jr., 45 N. 19th
St.

Union City: Heraco Exchange, Inc., 61 1 Ber-

genline Ave.

West New York: Rembrandt Studios, Inc.,

526A Bergenline Ave.

NEW YORK

Binghamton: A. S. Bump Co., Inc., 180

Washington St.

Brooklyn: Geo. J. McFadden Inc., 202 Flat-
bush Ave.

Buffalo: Buffalo Photo Material Co., 37 Ni-

agara St.

New York City: Wm. C. Cullen, 12 Maiden
Lane

Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc., 356 Madison
Ave. at 45th St.

Gillette Camera Stores, Inc., 117 Park
Ave.

Herbert & Huesgen Co., 18 E. 42nd St.
Mogull Bros. Electric Corp'n., 1944 Boston
Road, Bronx.

New York Camera Exchange, 109 Fulton St.
Times Building News Stand, Inc., Times
Building.

Willoughby’s, 110-112-114 West 32nd St.
Rochester: Marks & Fuller, Inc., 36 East Ave.

Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Co.

Smith, Surrey, Inc., 129 Clinton Ave., South.
Schenectady: J. T. & D. B. Lyon, 236 State

St.

Syracuse: Francis Hendricks Co., Inc., 339 So.
Warren St.

Utica: Edwin A. Hahn, 223-225 Columbia St.

OHIO

Cincinnati: Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc., 27
West Fourth St.

Huber Art Co., 124 Seventh St., W.

Salem: Butcher’s Studio, 166 South Broadway.
Toledo: Gross Photo Supply Co., 325 Superior
St.

ORECON

Pendleton: J. T. Snelson, 608 Gardner St.
Portland: Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc., 345

Washington St.

PENNSYLVANIA

Erie: Kelly Studios, 1026-28 Peach St.
Philadelphia: Klein & Goodman, 18 South

Tenth St.

MacCallum Stores, 1600 Sansom St.
Pittsburgh: Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc., 6C6
Wood St.

Wilkes Barre: Ralph DeWitt, 2 South River
St.

VERMONT

Burlington: G. W. La Pierre’s, 71 Church St.

WASHINGTON

Seattle: Anderson Supply Co., Ill Cherry St.

WISCONSIN

Milwaukee: Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc., 737
N. Milwaukee St.

Photoart House, The, 226 West Wells St.
Phillips: Jakoubeks’, 132 N. Lake Ave.

AUSTRALIA

Melbourne: McGills Agency, 179-218 Eliza-
beth St.

CHINA

Canton: International Book Co., 269 North

Wing Hon Road.

HAWAII

Honolulu: Eastman Kodak Stores, 1059 Fort
St.

INDIA

Bombay: Continental Photo Stores, 255 Hornby
Road.

P. C. Eranee Sons, Albert Bldgs., Hornby
Road.

Calcutta: Photographic Stores & Agency Co.,
154 Dhuramtolla St.

M. L. Shaw, 5 /I Dhuramtolla St.

Lucknow: Lucknow Commercial Co., 25 Amina-
bad Park.

MEXICO

American Photo Supply Co. S.A., Av. F.l,
Madero, 43, Mexico, D.F.

February 1933 • American Cinematographer

Classified Advertising

Rates: Four cents a word. Minimum charge, one dollar per insertion.

FOR RENT— MISCELLANEOUS

FOR RENT— Mitchell Motor, 1000 Ft. Mitchell Magazines. J. R. Lock-
wood, Glendale. Douglas 3361 W.

FOR RENT — Mitchell high speed gear box complete. Pliny Horne,
1318 N. Stanley. HO-7682 or HO-9431.

• You want The Cinematographic Annual

FOR SALE OR RENT

FOR SALE OR RENT — Mitchell and Bell & Howell silenced cameras,
follow focus Pan lenses, free head, corrected new aperture. Akeley,
DeBrie, Pathe, Universal, Prevost, Willart, DeVry, Eyemo, Sept,
Leica. Motors, Printers, lighting equipment. Also every variety
of 16mm and still cameras and projectors. Everything photo-
graphic bought, sold, rented and repaired. Send for our bargain
catalogue. Open 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. Hollywood Camera Exchange,
1600 Cahuenga Blvd. Phone: GLadstone 2507; Hollywood 9431.
Cable address Hocamex.

FOR RENT— CAMERAS

FOR RENT — Two thoroughly silenced Mitchell Cameras. Follow focus
device. Pan Astro Lenses, Freehead, 1000 Ft. Magazines. J. R.
Lockwood, 523 N. Orange St., Glendale. Douglas 3361 W.

FOR RENT — Mitchell high speed camera with latest 40. 50 and 75
mm. Pan-Astro lenses. 1000 ft. magazines; loose head, tripod
Pliny Horne, 1318 N. Stanley. HO-7682 or HO-9431.

FOR SALE — CAMERAS

FOR SALE — New Model 5 Victor Camera complete with 3 Hugo Meyer
lens, 1" F.2.A; 3” F.3; 4" F.4 and Case. Regular Price $322.00.
Now $198.00. Hollywood Movie Supply Co., 6058 Sunset Blvd.,
Hollywood, Calif. Phone HE 7121.

FOR SALE — 35 MM. Pathe Studio Camera, 1" f:3.5 Krauss Tessar;
carrying case; three magazines, $100. Universal Tripod with
carrying-case, $75. Box S, American Cinematographer, 1222 Guar-
anty Bldg., Hollywood.

FOR SALE — Ernemann Camera. Exactly same as a Debrie. Adjustable
shutter. Complete four magazines, case and tripod. $100.00. Ries
& Fitzpatrick, 1128 N. LaBrea Avenue.

You want The Cinematographic Annual •

FOR SALE— FILMS

FOR SALE— 16 MM. Films. Passion Play, 1500 ft., $60.00. Deposit
$20.00, balance C.O.D. Niagara Falls, Quebec, and Montmorency
Falls, 112 ft., $5.25 cash. Other subiects. For list send stamps,
six cents. Pecker, 31 Church Street, Boston, Mass.

FOR SALE— MISCELLANEOUS

FOR SALE — 1 - 75 mm. Cook Lens F.2 with Mitchell mount complete.
$100.00. J. R. Lockwood, 523 N. Orange St., Glendale, Calif.
Phone Douglas 3361 W.

FOR SALE — Six 400 Ft. Mitchell Magazines cheap. J. R. Lockwood,
523 N. Orange St., Glendale, Calif.

FOR SALE — lea “Monopol” semi-portable 35 MM. projector, complete
with carrying-cases and extra carbons. Box S, care American
Cinematographer.

FOR SALE — Model “D” Moviola film-viewing machine (silent). Good
condition. Takes 1000 ft. reels. Make offer. Box S, American
Cinematographer.

FOR SALE— Recording head built by Akeley can be used on top Mitchell
camera as single system recording, or as separate recorder for
double system. Beautifully built and very low price for cash.
Also recording amplifier. Don Malkames, Hazleton, Pa.

544 pages of valuable information. •

WANTED

SHOTGUNS, Target Pistols, Rifles and other good firearms may be
traded in at liberal allowances on any photographic equipment,
movie or still, including Bell & Howell Eyemos and Filmos, East-
man, Victor, Leitz. Zeiss. Stewart Warner and other leading makes.
NATIONAL CAMERA EXCHANCE, 5 South 5th St., Minneapolis,
Minn.

WANTED — Reliable connections in the U.S.A. Cameraman with own
cameras able to supply 35 and 16 MM. films from India — tropicals,
religious, festivals, travel, etc. R. C. Rigordy, 179 Lower Circular
Road, Calcutta, India.

WANTED — Several Bell & Howell Standard Camera outfits. State serial
number, accessory equipment, full details, condition and price in
first letter. Address Box 25, care American Cinematographer.

WANTED — Bargain in 10" or 12" Telephoto lens for use on Universal
Camera. Regina Photo Supply Ltd., Regina, Sask., Canada.

Phone CL. 7507 Hours 9 to 5

Also by Appointment

Dr. C. Floyd Jackman

DENTIST

706 Hollywood First National Building
Hollywood Blvd. at Highland Ave.

ROY DAVIDGE
FILM LABORATORIES

Negative Developing and Daily Print Exclusively

6701 SANTA MONICA BLVD.

CRanite 3108

.naraDiiuis

LINE ETCHINGS
COPPER & ZINC
HALFTONES
COLOR PLATES
ELECTROTYPES
MATS, etc — ■
DESIGNING
LETTERING
LAYOUTS &

PHOTO

RETOUCHING

5Vi

E OFFER A
COM P L E T E
SERVICE TO
FOREIGN FILM
EXCHANGES,
STUDIOS &
PRODUCING
ORGANIZATIONS
Including
TRANSLATIONS,
DESIGN I NG,
LAYOUTS..
EDITING <&
PRINTING:

wperiorCngraving

160(5 Cahuenga Avenue
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA

American Cinematographer • February 1933

ON THE JOB WITH

CAMERA AND SOUND MEN

PRODUCTION

DIRECTOR

CAMERA

SOUND

COLUMBIA STUDIO — Emil Oster, Camera Executive.

Fever

Beneath the Sea
The Lovable Liar

CLARENCE BADGER
AL ROCELL
GEORGE B. SEITZ

BEN CLINE

JOSEPH WALKER, A.S.C.
TEDDY TETZLAFF

EDWARD BERNDTS
GEORGE COOPER
GLENN RONNINCER

FOX STUDIO — Godfrey Fisher, Camera Executive

Maneater (On location in Malay
Peninsula)

Zoo in Budapest (Lasky Prod.)
The Warrior’s Husband (Lasky

Prod.)

Sailors’ Luck
Pleasure Cruise
House of Refuge

CLYDE ELLIOTT
ROWLAND V. LEE

WALTER LANG
RAOUL WALSH
FRANK TUTTLE
AL SANTELL

CARL BERGER
LEE GARMES

HAL MOHR. A.S.C.
ARTHUR MILLER, A.S.C.
ERNEST PALMER, A.S.C.
LUCIEN ANDRIOT

E. CLAYTON WARD
f. b. mckenzie

GEORGE LEVERETT
AL BREZLIN
W. D. FLICK

METRO-COLDWYN-MAYER STUDIO— John Arnold, A.S.C.,

Camera Executive

Eskimo (On location in Alaska)

Turn About

The White Sister

Clear All Wires

Rivets

Man On the Nile
Reunion in Vienna

W. S. VAN DYKE
HOWARD HAWKS
VICTOR FLEMING
GEORGE HILL. A.S.C.
TOD BROWNING
SAM WOOD
SIDNEY FRANKLIN

CLYDE DE VINNA, A.S.C.
OLIVER MARSH, A.S.C.
WILLIAM DANIELS, A.S.C.
PERCY HILBURN
J. PEVERELL MARLEY
LEN SMITH

GEORGE FOLSEY, A.S.C.

CARROLL PRATT
A. MACDONALD
G. A. BURNS
ROBERT SHIRLEY
FRED MORGAN
JAMES K. BROCK
PAUL NEAL

PARAMOUNT STUDIO — Virgil Miller, Camera Executive

Bedtime Story

Dead Reckoning

The Story of Temple Drake

Under Tonto Rim

Song of Songs

Pick-up (B. P. Schulberg Prod.)
Strictly Personal (Charles Rogers

Prod.)

Supernatural (Halperin Bros. Prod.)

NORMAN TAUROC
PAUL SLOAN
STEPHEN ROBERTS
HENRY HATHAWAY
ROUBEN MAMOULI AN
MARION CERING

RALPH MURPHY
VICTOR HALPERIN

CHARLES LANG, A.S.C.
HARRY FISCHBECK
KARL STRUSS, A.S.C.
ARCHIE STOUT
VICTOR MILNER, A.S.C.
DAVID ABEL, A.S.C.

MILTON KRASNER
UNASSIGNED

GENE MERRITT
HAROLD LEWIS
EARL HEYMANN
H. M. LINDGREN
HARRY MILLS
J. E. GOODRICH

FRANK GOODWIN
M. M. PAGGI

R-K-0 STUDIO — William Eglinton, Camera Executive

The Creat Desire

DOROTHY ARZNER

BERT GLENNON

hugh McDowell

UNITED ARTISTS STUDIO — Harry Abrams, Camera Executive

UNIVERSAL STUDIO — Charles Glouner, Camera Executive

S.O.S. Iceberg (In production in

Berlin.)

Kiss Before the Mirror
Cohens and Kellys in Trouble
Niagara Falls

DR. ARNOLD FANCK
JAMES WHALE
GEORGE STEVENS
SAM TAYLOR

HANS SCHNEEBERGER
KARL FREUND, A.S.C.
LEN POWERS, A.S.C.
JEROME ASH

WM. HEDGECOCK
JESS MOULIN
ROBERT PRITCHARD

WARNER BROS.-FIRST NATIONAL STUDIO, Milton Cohen,

Camera Executive

Elmer the Creat
The Adopted Father
Little Ciant
Mayor of Hell
Private Detective

MERVYN LE ROY
JOHN ADOLFI
ROY DEL RUTH
ARCHIE MAYO
MICHAEL CURTIZ

ARTHUR TODD
SALVADORE POLITO, A.S.C.
SID HICKOX
BARNEY McGILL
GAETANO GAUDIO, A.S.C.

CHARLES ALTHOUSE
G. A. RIGG
R. B. LEE
E. A. BROWN
DAVID FORREST

We’ll gladly
grant you this . . .

. . . That the biggest factor in
the photographic quality of
a picture will always be the
artistry of the man behind the
camera. But . . . even the great-
est cameraman in the world
could not do his best work
without using the best film as
his medium. Today that film
is Eastman Super-sensitive
“Pan” with gray backing.

J. E. BRULATOUR,inc.

New York Chicago Hollywood

E NOW offer an adaptor for the
MITCHELL ERECT IMAGE
VIEW FINDER which will

change the standard finder to a 25 mm
finder.

This 25 mm adaptor can be fitted to
your present finder and the mounting is
so arranged that the adaptor can be
quickly removed, when the wide angle
is not desired, and the finder used in its
standard form.

<JM ITCHELL (7 AMERA £b RPORATION

665 North Robertson Boulevard, West Hollywood, California
CABLE ADDRESS: “MITCAMCO" :: :: TELEPHONE OXford 1051

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